As much as anything else, crisis communications requires courage. Leaders must be able to, with limited or incomplete information, make the right decisions, even if they are difficult. Penn State’s leaders, specifically Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, failed abjectly in their responsibilities as the Jerry Sandusky scandal came to light in 1998 and 2001. […]
Reading columns by former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan is a special joy. Her way with words is understated, focused and powerful. I’d give my left arm to write like that, and not just because I’m right handed. Her most recent column offered two great nuggets that people who give speeches and presentations should take to heart. […]
Attorneys have been part of my career ever since I became a journalist. I’ve interviewed lots of them in nearly every kind of situation.
I’ve also dealt with them on the PR side of things in every crisis to which I’ve responded.
I’ve worked with spectacular attorneys, who had just the right advice at the perfect time and probably saved the response. […]
PR folks and crisis communicators spend a lot of time talking about how fast companies have to be in order to survive a crisis. Getting out of the gate fast is critical to success. But fast isn’t the only thing a company has to be to weather a PR storm. In fact, fast isn’t even the most important thing a company needs to be in a crisis. […]