Stories by Brett Bruen

While companies may feel enormous pressure to issue a major diversity announcement, tectonic shifts rarely work, according to the NAACP’s Aba Blankson. Instead, she says, acknowledge what the company has, or, more importantly, has not done on racial justice previously.

Crisis Insider contributor Brett Bruen talks with Alyssa Farah, former President Trump’s director of communication, about lessons learned from what were undoubtedly some of the most intense interactions any media relations team ever experienced. Several are relevant as companies prepare for, and respond to, today’s polarized political climate.

During a crisis, let others speak on your behalf. It can be an awkward feeling when the harsh winds and torrential rains are battering your company’s reputation.  Yet, in many cases, others can do a far better job of explaining who you are and what really happened.

Information warfare is no longer a problem just for governments. Increasingly, companies find themselves targeted. Few have adequate defenses. As the threat expands, developing the capability to counter disinformation needs to be at the top of your to-do list.

What if we could change the course of the next crisis before it got out of hand? Speaking with people in and out of government, I came to believe that we were missing our moment of maximum impact. If we pre-constructed some of what I began calling counter-crisis capabilities (CCC), they could be ready when problems started to percolate. We might reduce the frenzy factor, increase our focus, and enhance performance, argues Brett Bruen, a former White House official.