Let's Plan and Put that Fire Out NOW!

Your main anchor has been caught by the cops in the back seat of a car, drunk as a skunk, and with a woman who is NOT his wife.  It could happen.  It did happen.  Now, what do you do?

I won't go into the ragged details about this particular case because the anchor is still working in the business, and I don't want to embarrass him by opening old wounds.

The fact is that knowing how to manage a crisis is a big part of working in the media, but due to that fact that most of us came up as writers, producers, directors and designers, there are very few of us who are primed and ready to be crisis managers.  The same goes for company managers, who are former bean counters, sales managers or news directors.  None of us is able to see a disaster coming--and that's the problem.

I got fired once.  I guess it had been coming for a while, as my GM and I continued to be at the opposite ends of so many policy issues.  After the dust settled, our business manager told me "I don't know what was worse--that you got fired or that you didn't see it coming."

Whether it's Paula Deen's inappropriate remarks toppling her sizable empire, Eliot Spitzer's love of hookers or an anchor having an affair or drug problem, it's going to happen, and you will NOT be equipped to deal with it.  Period.

Toss social media into the mix and the chances of one misstep, one poorly-chosen remark or one indiscretion by a valued employee can sink your ship fast.  The trick is to have your crisis plans in place NOW.

No department head "meeting of the minds" with corporate leaders at your home office will solve your problem.  Regardless of what it says on your business card, this is NOT YOUR JOB, but everyone in your company will bear the brunt of its effects if you don't put out the fire well and fast.

I'll bet your company has a plan in case of a terrorist attack or if someone has a heart attack in your building.  Being ready for a public relations crisis is not asking for trouble, but could help save your company.

Here are five things to do TODAY not to avoid a disaster, but to prevent one:

1.  Know that if can and will happen eventually.  Prepare a manual (or pamphlet) that is held by every department head and especially the HR Director.  Who speaks for the company and when?

2.  Have a PR expert hired, primed and ready to go.  This should be someone outside of the company who is experienced in crisis management and has a track record of helping a company react quickly and emerge out of the crisis (hopefully) unscathed.

3.  React quickly.   If your main anchor (and the number one talent in the market) is caught with a suitcase full of cocaine, take no more than 24 hours to gain all the facts and decide on a path.  When Paula Deen's comments were revealed, it seemed to take forever for her to appear on Today, and they she was unapologetic and seemed to say "what's the big deal?"  Done!  Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer took days and weeks (after denying their own culpability) and it ended up biting them in the rear.  In Deen's case, her failure to be contrite and recognize her own racial insensitivity moved slower than her sponsors did to negate her contracts.

4. Admit you were wrong.  When someone apologizes, do you like them more or less?  Exactly.

5. Use Three Key Messages For Every Crisis. Crisis management guru Brian Ellis believes in the "power of the rule of three" key messages that will work in the first 48 hours of any crisis:

“We have a plan to deal with …” You really do need to have a plan – that is why creating a crisis plan in Rule 1 is so important.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to those …” You need to show compassion for those that have been killed, hurt or simply inconvenienced.

“We immediately began our own investigation to make sure that we …” You need to commit to finding out what went wrong and taking the necessary steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Preparing for a crisis is like creating a will--you hope you won't have to use it for quite a while, but when you do, you are prepared and everyone breathes easier knowing what the next step will be.

Whether it's a verbal misstep by an anchor or department head or worse, it's going to happen.  Hire an outside consultant to help you with a problem that neither you nor your boss are able to even think about right now. 

Again, the great Brian Ellis says it best:   "They say it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only a few hours to destroy it. You’re almost guaranteed the latter, if you fail to plan. Being unprepared is no excuse; it’s just a reflection of the importance you place on your reputation."

Oh, and that anchor I mentioned in the first paragraph?  Still working and now married to the woman in the back seat. Problem solved. 

--Rich Brase
redrich24@yahoo.com

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