Sept. 11. Enron. Arthur Andersen. These events strike fear in the hearts of communications execs across corporate America as they wonder, "Are we ready for that?"
According to many crisis management experts, the answer is a resounding "no," despite the many warnings we've had in recent months.
Nine months after 9/11 and eight months after Enron, industry veterans contend that the lion's share of American corporations still haven't done any concrete planning in the
arena of crisis management.
"Most people still haven't gotten the message," says Rene Henry, a long-time crisis management expert and author of You'd Better Have a Hose if You Want to Put Out a Fire: A
Complete Guide to Crisis Communications. "I still don't see people making it a priority," he adds. "They'll write out a $100,000 check to a law firm, but won't bring in the top PR
and crisis management people" to avoid litigation to begin with.
Others, like Larry Smith, president of the Louisville, Ky.-based Institute for Crisis Management, agree.
Smith says business at his firm had slowed to a crawl by last August, a result of the ailing economy. Then, the day after the tragedies of Sept. 11, the phone was ringing off
the hook - but not with potential clients wanting to hire the firm for crisis planning. Instead, the callers were executives wanting him to give workshops and speeches on crisis
management. "That's business - but it's not hardcore crisis planning," he says.
"Corporate executives have been raised to a new level of consciousness about crisis management. They're talking about it, but they're not spending a whole lot more money than
they were before Sept. 11," he added.
The Ostrich Syndrome
Why the lack of action? Seasoned crisis management experts say there are many reasons, with false confidence resting firmly at the top of the heap.
"It's ego," says Henry. "The thinking is, 'It won't happen to us.' Or, 'If it does, we can handle it.' Some think, 'Sept. 11 happened once; it won't happen again.' "
Money's another concern. Hiring a crisis management consultant (or finding the man-power in-house) to scrutinize your company, come up with a detailed, customized plan, then
update and maintain that plan pushes the limits of already strained budgets and staffs. Consulting services can run anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000, with the initial phase
taking four to six months to complete. With the economy continuing to lag, many companies are putting off such preparation until they have more cash. Others are in denial.
"Part of this is due to the fact that when you commit to start planning for a crisis, you have to admit that a crisis is possible," says Smith.
As time heals all wounds, time also lessens the urgency to change the status quo. According to Jim Lukaszewski, a 25-year crisis management veteran and head of White Plains,
N.Y.-based The Lukaszewski Group, that factor is definitely at work here.
"As time passes and there are no new [terrorist] incidents [on American soil], the impetus to act wanes," he says. "But we're at war; we should act that way."
Lazy Americans
Lukaszewski adds that, unfortunately, it might take one more terrorist attacks or ugly Enron-type scandal before companies truly wake up and do what it takes to get ready for
these scenarios.
"American culture is such that we don't do things the right way until we've done everything else," he says.
Smith says that most of corporate America never has been able to get itself in the mindset of hiring a crisis management firm well in advance of any crisis taking place. He
likens it to the plight of the funeral director. "When Aunt Martha dies, the family wants the funeral director to come in immediately and make her look better than she did when
she was alive," says Smith. "Then they want the funeral director out of their life until the next time it happens. We face the same thing."
Another rampant problem is companies that rely on crisis management plans they developed years ago - plans that now sit on the shelves collecting dust and are often about as
good as having no plan at all.
"A crisis management plan is a living, breathing document," Smith says. "It's obsolete in six months if ignored."
If employees are assigned certain tasks in the plan, for example, the plan must be updated regularly to account for workers who have left the company. Other businesses may have
added a product line - a new drug for pharmaceutical companies; for chemical companies, perhaps a new compound that may be a biohazard - that calls for a revision in the crisis
management plan. Smith says it's imperative that managers and employees sit down regularly to brainstorm changes that might be called for within their existing plan.
"Any amount of time it takes to come up to speed on these matters when the crisis has already happened just puts the company deeper in the hole," says Smith.
Will it take another calamity like 9/11 to shake corporate leaders out of their crisis management stupor? Crisis management veterans say they hope that's not the case - but it
just might be.
"If there's any lesson to be learned, it's that managers and executives should imagine the worst possible thing and then think beyond that," Smith says.
(Contacts: Henry: [email protected]; Smith: [email protected]; Lukaszewski: [email protected])
Separating the Wheat from the Chaff
Lukaszewski offers five tips on avoiding the hype and hiring a firm that can get you through the tough times.
1. Ask the firm how many crisis management clients they've had. Ask to talk to those clients. Many agencies, says Lukaszewski, simply go to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency's Web site and download emergency management guidelines, calling them their own.
2. Ask if the firm has served any other companies in your industry. You will want to know that the firm has experience in the range of problems your company may face.
3. Ask the firm if it plans to farm out parts of your account should a special crisis strike, like mass casualty. If it does, ask whether you're free to hire that firm
yourself. If you're told no, keep walking.
4. Ask who will be on the team that will work with your company. Learn what their specific skills are. If you ensure that the best workers are assigned to your company, the job
will get done faster and most closely resemble what you think you purchased.
5. Make sure you have chemistry with the people who will be handling your account. It's most important to be able to work well with the people who will be on the job.