Communicating In A Crisis (Henry)

COMMUNICATING IN A CRISIS:
A GUIDE FOR MANAGEMENT
by Rene A. Henry

Every company, organization, nonprofit and college and university is vulnerable to a crisis.
Unfortunately, most are not prepared when a crisis strikes. A company that is prepared will
have plans for five generic crises as well as for potential crises specific to its business or
service.

The author cites five generic crises: terrorism, acts of Mother Nature including earthquakes,
hurricanes and floods; violence in the workplace, sexual harassment and discrimination; and
environmental pollution. The book tells the reader how to organize a crisis team and develop a
plan, 10 steps to take to resolve a crisis and prevent it from exacerbating, and how to
manage communications in a crisis.

Scores of anecdotes and case histories from actual crises highlight dos and don'ts. There are
in-depth chapters for travel and tourism, higher education, sports and events, government at
all levels, the workplace, customer service, and how to fight back and win. The book outlines
working relationships between PR counselors and lawyers in a crisis.

The book is recommended for all CEOs, senior managers, lawyer and law libraries, PR
practitioners, educators in PR and journalism, and heads of human resources, sales,
manufacturing and security.

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REVIEWS

“Comprehensively researched and thoroughly documented, Communicating In A Crisis: A
Guide for Management, is a concise, full-semester course in what to do and not to do that
can be completed in less than a week. The Summary Checklists at the end of each chapter
making reviewing or refreshing what you have learned possible in less than an evening. It's an
easy-to-use road map through swamps you hope you never have to navigate” --Rich
Perelman, president, Perelman, Pioneer & Company; formerly vice president/Press
Operations, Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
(Los Angeles 1984)

“Finally, a customer service book that tells it all -- the truth. Read this book NOW so you don
t have to face any more serious customer issues. Deborah Gardner, motivational speaker and
president of Compete Better Now!

“Anyone responsible for an organization's survival and success should keep this book where
it can be used quickly.....but only after reading the entire copy. Rene Henry is truly one of the
most practical minded crisis management authorities, and this book demonstrates it in
language we can all use. I rely heavily on his judgment. -- Joseph J. Honick, president, GMA
International

“COMMUNICATING IN A CRISIS is valuable to public relations people because most
organizations in trouble never go to Plan B since they don't even know how to develop Plan A.
-- John Martin Meek, president & CEO, HMI, Inc.

“A must-read for anyone in business or government management, law or communications ...
the expanding media world makes it even more needed. Keep one copy at home, too!” Harvey
P. Posert, former vice president of public and industry relations, Robert Mondavi Winery

“ Rene Henry writes with clarity and conciseness in defining essential strategy for crisis
planning and management. His expansive knowledge of crisis situations and what they teach
us provides invaluable information for all senior executives. What makes his book special is
that it is easy and fun to read. Executives will find that this is a "how to" book they will not
want to lay down until they have reached the last page. -- Dr. Melvin L. Sharpe, APR, Fellow
PRSA, professor emeritus, Ball State University and former chair PRSA Educators Academy
and College of Fellows

“I found this book to be extremely valuable given the times in which we live. It is amazing how
many companies go out of their way to prolong a crisis rather than address it - it seems to be
a lesson that is learned over and over again the hard way. The examples were great.” -- John
Vondras, former vice president AT&T Wireless; managing director AT&T Indonesia; and
managing director Belize Telecom, Scottsdale, Arizona

“I don t think I’ve read any text that clarify the principles of effective crisis management as
well as Communicating In A Crisis. In fact, if more people read this, they d have less crisis
communicating to do!” – Jonathan Bernstein, president, Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.;
editor, Crisis Manager newsletter; author, Keeping the Wolves at Bay: A Media Training
Manual

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. A Crisis Can Strike Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
2 The Crisis Team and The Plan
3 Managing the Crisis
4 Who Said “Silence Is Golden”?
5 Stupid Is As Stupid Does
6 You Can Fight Back and Win
7 Do the Right Thing ? Be Responsible and Win Public Support
8 Crises On Land, In the Air and on the Seas
9 Workplace Crises - Murder, Violence, Harassmment and Discrimination
10 Even the Government Makes Mistakes
11 Foul! Is This Anyway to Play the Game?
12 Institutional Arrogance in the Ivory Tower
13 The Aggie Pigs and President Bush
14 The Importance of Customer Service
15 Closing the Book After an Incident

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EXCERPT FROM THE INTRODUCTION

From almost the day I began a career in public relations, I have had to deal with crises. There
were no books to read, or guidelines to follow, and the communications strategy basically
came down to using good, common sense and street-smarts. During the 1990s, I often wrote
and spoke on crisis management and communications and I would give the audience
prepared hand-outs with guidelines, tips and tactics. I decided that there was a need for a
book on this subject, so in 2000, I authored You’d Better Have A Hose If You Want to Put
Out the Fire. Since then a score of books have been published on this subject. But crises
continue, and the people responsible for managing and communicating them, obviously are
not buying, borrowing, or reading the books available to help them.

I wrote COMMUNICATING IN A CRISIS for the senior people in management who most likely
will be part of the crisis response team and held accountable in a crisis – the CEO; executive
vice president; general counsel; heads of public relations/public affairs/corporate
communications, human resources, manufacturing/production, sales and marketing, and
security. This book also will give entry and mid-level communications professionals an
overview, and how-to approach to crises. It will serve as a checklist and reminder for senior
practitioners.

As did my first book, Communicating In A Crisis should serve as a textbook for faculty to use
with students, and as a resource not only for corporate executives, but also officials of other
types of organizations including nonprofit, higher education institutions, trade associations,
government at all levels, and NGOs.

The interaction between the public relations professional and the lawyer is very important to
understand. A number of examples are included throughout this book, especially in Chapter
4, “Who Said Silence Is Golden?” I believe that if senior executives and attorneys had a better
understanding of media relations and crisis communications, many crises could be contained
as only a regrettable incident. To paraphrase the Spanish philosopher George Santayana, we
need to anticipate the future by learning from the past.

I believe this, or any book on crisis communications, should also be required reading for
students graduating from law school or business school, so they will at least have exposure
to the subject before it becomes reality. However, Timothy Sullivan, the retired president of
The College of William & Mary and former dean of its law school, once reminded me,
“Lawyers make very little money preventing crises, and a lot of money resolving them.” I had
suggested to him a seminar on this subject for graduating law school students ready to take
the bar exam and begin practice.

Whether or not it is this book, there should be at least one book on crisis management and
communications in the library of every law firm, law school, business school and
journalism-public relations school in the country, and only an arm’s reach away from the CEO
of a company or nonprofit organization, and the president or chancellor of a college or
university.

Unfortunately, many management officials believe they are immune to crises. As a result,
they do not have a crisis team or plan in place, and are either unprepared or underprepared to
deal with a crisis. The public relations firm Burson-Marsteller surveyed the CEOs of a number
of major corporations following the 9/11 terror attack and found that 81 percent of the
companies reported that their existing crisis plans were inadequate, and only 63% had made
an effort to re-evaluate their existing plans.

When Fred Thompson, a senior public relations executive reviewed my first book, he wrote:
“This book is the closest thing to business preservation insurance that you will find. Keep it
with all the other emergency numbers and manuals you rely on, because sooner or later,
you’re going to need it.”

A new addition to this book is a summary check list at the end of each chapter. Faculty can
use this as a review with students. Professionals can refer to the checklist for discussion in
meetings with a crisis team, or during internal roundtables or workshops at any organization.

All of the anecdotes and case histories in the book reinforce the basic principles of managing
and communicating in a crisis. Every case history presents a lesson to be learned. There
are specific crises related to the travel and tourism industry in Chapter 8, the workplace in
Chapter 9, governments in Chapter 10, sports in Chapter 11, and higher education in Chapter
12. All are relative to crises that can happen in any business or industry or nonprofit. A
number of crises cited in this book could have been avoided with proper customer service.
Chapter 14 is devoted to customer service.

Every company, organization and institution is vulnerable to five generic crises that are
outlined in Chapter 1. Additionally, each is vulnerable to crises specific to its business,
product, or service. Chapter 1 also outlines 10 ways to prevent situations from becoming
crises, and how to manage and communicate during a crisis.

In my 50-year career as a public relations counselor, I have been involved in crises faced by
many different types of organizations. Among these were the largest owner and producer of
California redwood lumber at a time when environmentalists advocated taking private timber
lands for a national park; a large university where I headed university relations and advised the
president and was a member of his executive cabinet; California agriculture interests during
the time Cesar Chavez was organizing the United Farm Workers labor movement; and a
telecommunications and media company operating in five countries where, as vice president,
I directed its public relations activities. I have also owned and operated my own counseling
firm, worked for both profit and nonprofit organizations, and the federal government. I have
experienced crises involving product recalls, dealing with unions, government relations, and
sports issues. Some of my experiences are documented in this book as case histories.

I have always practiced the philosophy of being proactive and aggressive. This includes
fighting back when maligned. In media relations, where ethics and integrity matter, I believe
there should be no time limit in righting a wrong. Chapter 6 has an example of how the
Columbia Journalism Review did the right things five years after calling the head of a company
a “world-class, phone-sex operator.”

Crisis management and communications is no mystery, and it is not magic. It’s simply
basic, down-to-earth common sense, and being practical. Anticipation and preparation are
critical, and an experienced, professional team must respond.

Communicating in times of crises encompasses all of the broad techniques of public
relations, public affairs, corporate communications, and media relations. With the litigious
nature of society today, there is no excuse for any organization not being prepared, and not
having an action plan in place. However, even the best laid plans may not prevent a crisis.
But being prepared as completely as possible with a plan and team in place certainly should
make it much easier for all concerned to respond to any emergency.

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2008, 326 pages
ISBN-10: 0967453526
ISBN-13: 978-0967453521
Order #DR846
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