Jim Lukaszewski: He’ll manage crises but prefers to avert them
If you don’t know James Lukaszewski, that’s probably just as well for you and your company.
If you do, then you understand why he’s regarded as one of the “experts to call when all hell breaks loose.” And why he’s held in Yoda-like esteem for his wise, concise, positive approach to guiding clients through their worst internal and external problems.
Planning can help companies avoid crises, said consultant James Lukaszewski, back in the Twin Cities after 25 years in New York.
Management consultant Jim Lukaszewski has written the book on crisis communications. He’s written a bunch of them, for that matter, in two decades of coaching and advising big corporations and organizations facing serious problems, from bankruptcies to product recalls, medical malpractice to scientific misconduct and civil and criminal cases. He joined Risdall McKinney Public Relations, which is a division of the Risdall Marketing Group in New Brighton.
The Minnesota-raised Lukaszewski (loo-ka-SHEV-skee) returned to the Twin Cities this year after 25 years in New York, where he’s been busy building a reputation in both business and academic circles as one of the leading crisis communications and management consultants in the country.
Over the years, he’s advised large corporations and organizations in dozens of states and a number of countries as they have faced everything from bankruptcies to product recalls, medical malpractice, scientific misconduct, civil litigation and criminal charges.
In January, he launched the Lukaszewski Group, a new division of Risdall McKinney Public Relations, itself a division of Risdall Marketing Group in New Brighton. A prolific writer and speaker, Lukaszewski has produced 12 books, hundreds of articles and more than 200 webinars on his crisis communications website, www.e911.com.
“My definition of a crisis is pretty simple,” said Lukaszewski, 68. “It’s an unexpected event that creates victims. There are three kinds of victims: People, animals and living systems.”
While he most often hears from clients after something is “already leaking, foaming, stinking or burning,” he tries to persuade them of the importance of crisis prevention and readiness. His approach there is fairly straightforward too: “I’m there to tell you essentially to do what your mother taught you to do,” Lukaszewski said. “If you’d just do that, I’d be unemployed.”
See He’ll manage crises but prefers to avert them, by Todd Nelson for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
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New Book! Lukaszewski on Crisis Communications
The global grand master and pioneer who helped shape the modern discipline of crisis communications distills his decades of experience and knowledge in this practical handbook, scheduled for publication in January, 2012. In his usual straight-talk style, Jim tells CEOs and other spokespersons what to say and do — and what not to — before, during, and after a crisis.
Stay tuned to the Business Survival(tm) blog for news on this exciting new book!
