Plenty.
They demonstrate once again the need for all organizations to have a planned crisis communications plan ... that living document that tells everyone what to do when a crisis arises. And, make no mistake, you will face an unexpected crisis sometime.

At last week’s meeting of the St. Louis Society of Association Executives (SLSAE) (http://bit.ly/pZ7Ssw), Tom Pagano (http://linkd.in/vlcOwa), senior VP of Fleishman-Hillard outlined the key steps organizations should have to deal with a crisis. Click this link for his full presentation http://bit.ly/uKoY7a.
I loved his opening quote: “When you hear the thunder, it’s too late to build the ark.” Which reminded me of an old PR adage: “If you want me there for the crash landing, I need to be there for the takeoff.”
Tom’s other overarching advice for you and others:
• When you are inside a courtroom, you are innocent until proven guilty.
• When you are in the court of public opinion, you are guilty unless you prove yourself innocent.
Here are four key elements of your crisis communications plan:

At last week’s meeting of the St. Louis Society of Association Executives (SLSAE) (http://bit.ly/pZ7Ssw), Tom Pagano (http://linkd.in/vlcOwa), senior VP of Fleishman-Hillard outlined the key steps organizations should have to deal with a crisis. Click this link for his full presentation http://bit.ly/uKoY7a.
I loved his opening quote: “When you hear the thunder, it’s too late to build the ark.” Which reminded me of an old PR adage: “If you want me there for the crash landing, I need to be there for the takeoff.”
Tom’s other overarching advice for you and others:
• When you are inside a courtroom, you are innocent until proven guilty.
• When you are in the court of public opinion, you are guilty unless you prove yourself innocent.
Here are four key elements of your crisis communications plan:
- Protect people first.
- Do what is right.
- Clarify facts vs fiction: What do we know? When did we know it? What we are doing about it?
- Share information with stakeholders.
Tom shared seven (7) guidelines for communicating effectively:
– Factual
– Frank
– Feeling
– First
– Fast
– Flexibility
– Feedback
As you build your own crisis communications plan, be sure to include who is responsible for what actions. Be sure you have a “phone tree” that allows the key leaders to know how to connect with each other. Have backup plans in the event that cell towers are down.
Does your organization have a crisis communications plan? Please send me a copy and I’ll create a catalog of plans for those who are interested.
– Factual
– Frank
– Feeling
– First
– Fast
– Flexibility
– Feedback
As you build your own crisis communications plan, be sure to include who is responsible for what actions. Be sure you have a “phone tree” that allows the key leaders to know how to connect with each other. Have backup plans in the event that cell towers are down.
Does your organization have a crisis communications plan? Please send me a copy and I’ll create a catalog of plans for those who are interested.
No comments:
Post a Comment