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A monthly e-zine on crisis management brought to you by Judy Hoffman Quote of the month: Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time; you won't have a leg to stand on. -- Anonymous OPTIMAL TIMING IS CRITICAL IN CRISIS RESPONSE Providing information to a public anxious to know what has happened in a crisis is tricky business in numerous ways. One of the most difficult things to get right is WHEN you make certain announcements. There are a number of recent instances where we have seen the dangers of both premature and tardy announcements that have sullied reputations and damaged credibility for people in the public eye. TOO EARLY “You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie!” was a premature statement. Revelations subsequently came to light about the lack of an adequate response on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Its head, Michael Brown, had to accept a large share of the responsibility. President Bush probably winced every time that video clip of this statement was shown on TV. In retrospect, the President should not have made any flattering public judgments; instead, he should have concentrated his remarks on messages of condolence to the victims and pledges to help them get the aid they desperately needed. “12 Miners Found Alive” was the tragic premature statement related to the Sago Mine Disaster in West Virginia in January. The garbled message from the rescuers who spoke through respirators deep underground was heard in the Incident Command Center by some 30 people. Bursting with what they thought was good news, one or more of those well-meaning people passed the incorrect information to the families huddled together in the near-by church. This situation provides a case study of why it is critical to control the flow of information by having designated spokespeople. And those spokespeople must discipline themselves to provide ONLY information that has been verified. TOO LATE “All But One Miner Dead” was the news that arrived much later than it should have. It is now known that officials of the mining company knew within 20 minutes that the initial report of finding 12 miners alive was sadly not the case. They hesitated to communicate the tragic news because they knew what a terrible blow this would be. Company officials later explained that they wanted to be absolutely sure of all the facts before they provided this information. So the celebration was allowed to continue for some three hours before the truth was revealed. The reaction of the victims’ families was predictable and harsh. It would still have been a blow, but allowing them to have hope for those three hours was cruel. And it led to almost every newspaper in the country carrying the false story in their morning editions about the safety of these miners. This all reminds me of one of my favorite sayings, “Bad news is like dead fish. It does not get better with time.” In fact, the longer it is delayed the worse it stinks. Which brings me to my last example this month: “Vice President Shoots Man” is a classic example of how a delay in informing people of an incident spawns speculation and mistrust. The Vice President is a savvy man and he presumably has very experienced public relations people on his staff. How could they get this one so wrong? Yes, hunting accidents happen frequently and, in this case, luckily no one was killed. But it is very strange that these folks did not grasp immediately that, when a national public figure does the shooting, most people would perceive that this was something where the public (and the President) would want to have the facts provided quickly. When Mr. Cheney’s lead P.R. person, Mary Matalin, was interviewed several days later on a national news show, she tried to make a case for their “choosing accuracy and completeness over speed.” Nice try to come up with a rationale for explaining what is widely perceived to be a huge mistake. As I always tell those in my media training workshops, when the public has great interest or a need to know, you cannot dot every “i” and cross every “t” before you tell people what you know to be the facts to that point. To delay promotes speculation. In this instance, people began questioning whether a more timely announcement might have led to a finding that alcohol had played a part in the accident. (This was accentuated by the fact that the first public statement by the ranch owner’s daughter indicated there had been no alcohol involved, whereas Cheney himself admitted four days later, when being interviewed by Britt Hume, that he had consumed “one beer.”) This inconsistency naturally led to further questions which became the subject of a long and negative blog, raising all kinds of previous issues with what some perceive as Mr. Cheney’s penchant for secrecy. Many people are left wondering what else is being covered up. All of this makes it almost inevitable that there would be a long, drawn out media frenzy. If handled quickly and honestly, it should only have been a one news cycle story. (Okay, probably two when a pellet moved to Mr. Whittington’s heart). So, like I said, timing is a tricky business. If an incident occurs, you have to walk a fine line between waiting too long to provide needed information and rushing to make statements that will later prove to be inaccurate. You must report information that the public needs to know as early as you know the truth, even if it is not pleasant. And stick to the facts, without jumping to conclusions and making unwarranted judgments. Special Offer: My husband and I can no longer resist the strong magnetic pull of a daughter, son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren who live in Raleigh, NC. So we are making plans to leave New York State, hopefully by the end of this summer. As we look over the accumulation of 28 years of living in this house, we know we have a LOT of work to do to accomplish this. One thing I would like to do is reduce the number of cartons of books in the basement! The anthology "Walking with the Wise" includes a chapter I wrote on "A Powerful Tool for Dealing with Angry People: Taking the HEAT." It explains the four-step process of how you turn a confrontational situation into something where you can try to repair a damaged relationship, whether it is with a customer, a colleague, a family member, a supplier, or a neighbor. In addition to my chapter, there are 71 other authors who have provided short articles on various topics including goal setting for personal success, overcoming obstacles, living your dream, balancing work and family, etc. Some of the more well-known authors include Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracey, Dan Kennedy, and Bob Proctor. I'm quite certain everyone can find a few pearls of wisdom in there that would make it a worthwhile purchase. Especially when you see that I am offering it to readers of my e-zine for the price of just $5.00 plus $2.50 for media mail shipping instead of the list price of $16.95 plus shipping and handling. If you want to take advantage of this offer before March 31st (while supplies last), just go to my web site and click on "Order Books/CD's." You must also respond to this e-mail telling me that you received the offer through the e-zine so that I'll know to charge your credit card the special reduced price. I'd love to see that you get one! And thanks for helping me clean out my basement before the movers arrive! 'Til next month...KEEP COOL! Copyright (C) 2006 JCH Enterprises Click here to view other e-zines by Judy Hoffman. |
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