Crisis don’t come out of nowhere

Slow Burn

Most of the crisis we manage are “slow burn”.

– They’re the issue ignored
– The complaint overlooked
– The employee concerns dismissed

So what should you be doing when you hear about an issue?

1. Do the groundwork, gather intel, fact check, craft key messages
2. Get into the detail, define the comms strategy
3. Anticipate it going live, plan for the ‘day in court’, prep those involved

Remember “slow burn” = prep time. Use it wisely.

Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash

Thank you Leslie Nielsen (Dr Rumack) and the iconic Airplane!

I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley!

Comedy is a useful ice breaker in crisis communications planning when we ask everyone to think the worst… no… the very, very worst.

And this quote is a reminder of everything that shouldn’t happen when things get serious. Why?

  1. Doctors don’t fly planes. If you want to know who is at the helm in moments of difficulty, do the thinking before the bad stuff happens.
  2. Preparing for the worst improves the likelihood of a better outcome, I promise you it’s worth the investment.
  3. Crisis planning is seriously fun, but never funny. Being invited to join companies at the start of their crisis comms planning is the best part of our job.

If crisis comms planning is making you seriously nervous, let us help you move it off the to-do list.

From COVID-19 Crisis → Business-As-Usual

From COVID-19 Crisis → Busines-As-Usual

As COVID-19 silently crept onto our shores you may have been in regular crisis meetings as the virus’ huge impact took hold. Now, you may well be moving from that heightened crisis state to living with the new “normal”, whatever that looks like for your organisation.

As we all bed into week 5 of the lockdown we thought we’d share some insights on how to adapt from crisis to business-as-usual with some suggested next steps and evidence from our client work.

Continue reading “From COVID-19 Crisis → Business-As-Usual”

Media & Presentation Training 2.0

Media and Presentation Training with Mangold Consultancy

As TV news anchors around the world set up studios in their homes with teleprompters, specialist lighting, makeup and HD broadcast cameras; interviewees must also up their game. “News” needs experts, spokespeople and human stories more than ever and the best people you will see and hear, the ones who get invited back, have received media & presentation training – even if they are speaking from a laptop in their living room. Continue reading “Media & Presentation Training 2.0”

How do you keep communicating when the crisis is never-ending?

Coronavirus - Crisis Communications

I have seen some brilliant emails and posts in the last few days – from my local Indian restaurant, Haweli, to Sainsbury’s, to other small business owners like me.  It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small; clear, regular and relevant communications are critical.

As we all adjust to the new “normal” personally and “business as usual” professionally, it occurred to me that there are some really simple tips for communicating in a crisis.

Continue reading “How do you keep communicating when the crisis is never-ending?”

Are you prepared for a social media crisis? Here’s 7 tips you need

Social Media Crisis

We all know the feeling.

Your phone pings, then again… and again… something has happened.

Twitter is “blowing up” says the voice on the other end of the line. Five minutes later; “it’s all over Facebook”. The on-call Press Officer rings next; local media want a response to the hundreds of comments on Twitter.

So, what’s your next move?

If you’re asking this question now, it’s too late.

Continue reading “Are you prepared for a social media crisis? Here’s 7 tips you need”

Kudos to my ex colleagues at BBC Watchdog

BMW

Credit to BBC Watchdog for their investigation on last night’s programme which lead to BMW announcing a recall of hundreds of thousands of cars.

The truth is that no one really knows what goes on inside an organisation during a crisis, apart from the people managing it.  There are often multiple business objectives which reach far beyond being featured on the programme.  Continue reading “Kudos to my ex colleagues at BBC Watchdog”

Inside a Crisis

Inside a Crisis

Fly on the wall TV, sometimes known as ‘obs docs’ (observational documentaries), are familiar fodder for prime time television. They have bred their own genre of satire, such as W1A and anti-heroes like Malcolm Tucker. But there remains some uncharted territory, and done right this obs doc would be a real eye opener. Inside a Crisis – The Comms Insider – impossible to make, impossible to get legal to sign off and impossible to resist for fly on the wall fans.

Continue reading “Inside a Crisis”