Transcript Crisis Class 13 – April 10, 2014

Georgetown University
Judith Muhlberg & Bruce Harrison
Class #13
April 10, 2014
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April 10, 2014
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# 1 Boeing
Brooke Cockrell
Tatiana Daniel
Bhumika Shah
Erin Wiegert
Elleni Almandrez
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#2 Microsoft
Sara Schuttloffel
Yogita Malik
Kaitlin Luna
Andrea Garner
Hayley Kropog
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#3 Honeywell
Katie Spencer
Emily Morin
Melissa Wertz
Emma Waldeman
Catie Weckenman
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#4 JP Morgan
Ritiksha Lobo
Ana Maria Garzon
Slgi Choi
Olivia Peterson
Sarah Heffern
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#5 Walmart
Omogboyinde Onijala
Jill Westeyn
Annie Lorenzana
Krystyna Barnard
Austin Hansen
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Teams will:
 Prepare and deliver to the class and faculty a 10-minute slide
(Power Point) presentation
 Describing cause, risk, stakeholders, SWOT (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and other
implications, and
 Recommending to the “audience” (fellow class members and
instructors, assumed to be representatives of the company or
industry) a clear, focused and robust crisis communications
action plan—with specifics on engaging the essential
elements of crisis communications covered in this course.
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This plan/presentation is worth 25 points.
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“When one negative situation is
topic ‘A’ bad news at
the top of the organization.”
Steve Harris, former CCO of General Motors
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Anatomy of CorporateCrisis
Condition
COOL
Routine
x
Rumblings
HOT
x
X!
Disruption Event
Escalation
X
Reaction
X
Response
X
Climax
X
Resolution
X
Aftermath
Repositioning
1/10/13
x
?
Georgetown University Corporate Crisis
Communication
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Avoid the crisis
Prepare to manage
Recognize the crisis
Contain the crisis
Resolve the crisis
Profit from the crisis
Norman R. Augustine, Former
CEO, Martin Marietta, Harvard
Business Review on Crisis
Management, 2000
Augustine
1.
2.
3.
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5.
What can’t be avoided
must be hedged
Trailer parks cause
tornadoes
Noah built the ark early
Perception causes crisis
The one aspect of
business in which a
CEO’s influence is
critical is crisis
management.
Key ideas
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Controllable
Beyond
reasonable
control
•Red flags
on stakeholder
(consumer) discontent
• Contexts
in the information universe
•e.g., a shift in market conditions
• Content and tone of information flow
•e.g., a negative (inaccurate or rigged) YouTube
video goes viral
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Routine is
disrupted
Missions must
refocus
Response is
demanded
Trust is put at
risk
CCO role
becomes
critical
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An inflection point occurs when the old
strategic picture dissolves and gives
way to the new, allowing the business
to ascend to new heights.
If you don’t navigate your way through
an inflection point, you go through a
peak and after the peak the business
declines...
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•Mastery of information flow
•Intimacy and influence
within the company’s
culture
•Active interaction with
stakeholders and media
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Know the
risks
Prepare to
navigate
Assume
central Csuite role
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Collaborator,
navigator
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http://www.nytimes.com/video/business/dea
lbook/100000002761106/the-currency-fixbanging-theclose.html?playlistId=100000002585027
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Crisis management planning
• Oriented to risk factors (see 10k),
mission, governance…
• C-suite, operations, facilities, sales…
Crisis communication planning
• Integrated with crisis management
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CRISIS MANAGEMENT Plan is
prepared pre-crisis to guide
senior and middle management in
crisis/disaster response
CRISIS COMMUNICATION Plan is
prepared by CCO to coordinate
with corporate management in
engaging with media and
stakeholders
When the crisis occurs,
the CCO and team go
into a management
mode, guided by a
standby crisis
communication checklist.
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Focus on your 3 vital accountabilities
Think through your most likely crisis
situations
Conduct pre-crisis intelligence
Prepare crisis communication guidelines
Contribute communication expertise to the
company’s crisis MANAGEMENT plan
Organize standby crisis-communication
team, designate standby central work
station
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Advanced Planning
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•
Brainstorm the list of questions you need to
ask in the first critical moments of a crisis.
What? So what? Now what?
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List your questions on the white boards
Appoint a spokesperson to share your team’s
list with the class
We will re-group in 30 minutes for the
report-outs
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Ask questions What’s it all about? Who? When?
Where? How? Why? Think like a reporter:
CRITICAL QUESTION: Is there death, danger? Think
context, content, tone of communication
Understand level…a crisis or something less…a
nuisance? Think your role in managing either.
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Activate your communications team Think ‘FACE’
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Activate the communication center. Think 24/7
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Fast Think: immediate mobilization of communicators, in
crisis communication center; try for initial response within the
first hour; if there’s a scene, send someone there NOW.
Accurate Think: speed is good, accuracy is better; hold
what we’re not sure of; we can always follow up; triple check
every fact.
Consistent – and Caring Think: If human harm, public safety
is involved, that’s the #1 priority. Show we care. Tone of our
communication; concern/sympathy for any harm, victims.
Engagement Think: we will use every effective channel to
listen, understand and deliver what stakeholders need
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What is it? What’s in it? Who writes it?
What facts or fears justify the effort?
Who gets a copy? What makes it special to
everybody who gets a copy?
Do you think the Plan is likely to be used in
an actual “crisis” event, or not? Why?
How would you increase the use/benefit?
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Steps the
company will take
in response to a
crisis
Specific staff
responsibilities
Reporting systems
Stakeholder data
Communication
channels
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Can a plan
prepare for every
situation?
What staff issues
can be
anticipated?
Media issues, key
channels?
How would you
plan for
stakeholder
engagement?
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What happened?
Were there any deaths or injuries?
What is the extent of the damage?
Is there danger of future injuries or damage?
Why did it happen?
Who or what is responsible?
What is being done about it
When will it be over?
Has it happened before?
Were there any warning signs of the problem?
Source: Crisis Communications, Kathleen Fearn -Banks
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Whenever possible, tell employees first
Use all channels to ensure employees understand the
corporate position – they are your strongest ambassadors
If there is action the employees should take to mitigate
the crisis, tell them
Advise employees to direct media questions to the
designated spokesmen – and help them understand why a
consistent, well-informed message is important
Listen to learn what they KNOW, how they FEEL
Employee perceptions can
make or break communication/trust
“WE” attitude is the strongest crisis message
platform
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Adopt crisis prevention as ongoing vigilance to assure enterprise
reach of financial, social, safety, health, and civic responsibility
goals.
Tie your effort to the realities defined by the company’s SEC 10-K
risk list.
Be proactive with others in the C-suite to stay aware of any risk
elevation.
Build communication influence: create your own stakeholder
perception intelligence systems to plug into the stakeholder systems
for early alert: red flags that could grow into crisis situations.
Initiate regular, calm conversations with C-suite colleagues to
assure top-level effort to prevent rumblings from reaching
unplanned disruption and crisis levels.
Be prepared: lead the readiness, appoint people in the
communication staff, and prepare online and operational facilities
for immediate response to a real crisis.
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Damage is controlled, risk is reduced
Trust (in the company and brand) is protected
Leadership is visible, on ‘scene’ if there is one
Focus is on stakeholders, their perceptions
The ‘deal’ with stakeholders is preserved
Every stage of the crisis is managed, constantly,
consistently; FACE is forefront
Debriefings are constant, lessons are learned for
future
Crisis communication was part of the answer
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