by Azeezaly S. Jaffer
Writer and Columnist
In any crisis situation we sometimes overlook the basics. I am a firm believer that there are a few essential ingredients if not more that need to be addressed in any crisis and they hit at the core of crisis resolution. The fact that any crisis is a generator of negative press can have an impact on the bottom line of any organization. Executives in every capacity should adopt a well thought out preemptive approach to crisis. Developing a line of communication to evaluate the best crisis plans for adoption is definitely a good start. This ensures that being aware of the simple fact that you need to prepare for a crisis long before a crisis actually occurs is the secret to a successful resolution.
For corporations the development of a solid brand narrative is paramount because what you re actually doing is you are addressing post-crisis with a pre-crisis attitude. The corporate and individual relationships that a corporation develops pre-crisis will be the foundational capacity to enable a corporation to navigate successfully during a crisis. These resources as they are called can be utilized in the media to protect the integrity, image and positioning of any entity during any given crisis.
But how do you navigate thru a crisis? Christine DiBartolo, Senior Managing Director, Strategic Communications, FTI Consulting attributes her crisis management success partially to the plethora of monitoring tools to observe and evaluate the tone of conversations in the media about your corporate brand. The fact that you have the ability to distinguish who is having these conversations in the public eye, and are they the right or wrong people, and are they top tier folks or not can have a significant impact during a crisis situation.
Crisis can feel and look like a problem that is larger than life but when you examine the nucleus of the crisis, you quickly realize that it may not be as impactful as you initially thought it would be. The best manner in which to heal from a crisis is to show your corporate image and positioning as one that is poised to make the necessary changes. This will enable the public eye to understand that you as a corporate brand are committed to never letting that situation to take place again. As Matt David from JUUL puts it, “You need to make your crisis part of your brand. It’s important to show the world that you are making a change.”
Jaffer who runs his own general column, served as a principle advisor to the Postmaster, Deputy Postmaster General and Governors for the United States Postal Service during the height of the 2001 Anthrax attacks.
