Crisis Management

This month, we discuss in-crisis moments, after you’ve determined you’re in a crisis. Our dialoguers are veteran communicators and authors Eric Dezenhall, co-founder and president of DC-based Dezenhall Resources, and Chris Rosica, president of Rosica Communications of NJ. Both whack at a few sacred cows in this dialogue.

When The New York Times released a report on Friday (Oct. 8) regarding a racist email sent by now former Las Vegas Raiders coach, Jon Gruden, the clock began to tick concerning the team’s response. 

Jaguars coach Urban Meyer and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have plenty in common. Both should heed the advice of Shad Khan, the Jaguars’ owner.

Southern California is reeling after a pipeline failure dumped 126,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific three miles from the Orange County coast. The pipeline company’s crisis communications response thus far has been underwhelming.

We’ve written about how founders’ personalities contributed to the downfall of Theranos, WeWork and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” And recently, we saw a similar pattern with the now-defunct media conglomerate Ozy and iconic game show “Jeopardy!.”

The ubiquity of cybercrime has made communication about it a subspecialty that PR pros need to acquire. Or they must hire communicators and lawyers with knowledge of cyber jargon, technology, rules and regulations.

The social media platform again is in the crosshairs. Instead of being defensive, transparency might have prevented a potential PR crisis.

It’s natural to want to respond fast to a negative story. However, patience sometimes is a better course, as one or two bad stories often fail to grow into a full-blown PR crisis.

The communication planet, Mercury, will appear to orbit backward soon. Similar to anticipating a PR crisis, planning for it now can help.

Bad stories rarely blow over or become tomorrow’s bird cage liner. Addressing them directly, promptly and truthfully usually is your best route.