A few years ago, I was asked to speak about crisis communication
s at an offsite retreat of industry managers. The organizer told me my audience would largely be grizzled veterans with very thick skins who would appreciate straight talk that they wouldn’t find in a textbook. Then he issued a tough request: “Think about mistakes you’ve made, or that you’ve seen others make when you were working in the thick of a crisis,” he asked. “Tell them what they can do to avoid those pitfalls.” So, after I covered crisis communications basics, I structured the end of my presentation around 10 principles that were not apparent to me at the start of my career, but which have since become part of my crisis belief system, and have shaped my instincts and approach:
- Be Declarative – Strong statements of accountability and action don’t come with prefaces.
- The Public Does Not Understand Risk – They don’t want to be taught risk assessment, and don’t care how “unlikely” your incident was. They want to see action.
- Watch for Patterns – Others may find them, even when you don’t believe they exist.
- Don’t Let Information Become Your Enemy – Manage it – don’t let it manage you.
- Decide What You Are Absolutely Sure About – And talk about those things. Uncertainty and unknowns are your enemy in a crisis. Establish some certainty and assert your knowns.
- Be Prepared to Prove Something – And create the tools to do so. “We’ve got this under control” won’t be enough.
- Decide What You Really Want to Fight For – Don’t try to explain every detail of your issue, or rebut every criticism. Ask yourself, “What’s most important?” and, “What can I prove?”
- Go by the Book – But it better be a really skinny book. The best crisis plans are short, flexible, and adaptable.
- It’s Not About You – People don’t care how hard the crisis is on you and your colleagues. Empathize with your troops behind closed doors. Never appear to court public sympathy.
- People Don’t Expect You to be Perfect – But they want to see you demonstrate that you “get It,” that you are trying to do what’s right, and that you are working to fix your mistakes.