Crisis Communications

Crisis Communications, Crisis Simulation, Leadership

crisis communication, leadership

I’ve worked with a lot of leadership teams to help them prepare for a crisis, often running simulation exercises alongside their communications teams or PR agencies. When I first talk to the PR and comms teams, their focus is often…

Brightly coloured lanterns outside city hall during Pride

Aligning your values to your behaviour can avoid a reputation crisis

Crisis Communications, Reputation

crisis communication, Crisis Management, reputation, values

A couple of years ago, I wrote a book on crisis communication, and I interviewed the amazing business psychologist, Gill Green, about what an organisation might do to trigger (inadvertently) a backlash against them. We talked about the relationship that…

How “good intentions” can create a backlash

#CrisisCommunications, #CrisisPrevention, #Diversity, #Inclusion, #Marketing, #PR

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. A brand might have the best intentions in its social content and marketing, but if it fails to live up to its promises, it could cause a…

Saying sorry in a crisis

communication

In nearly every crisis simulation exercise we run, the issue of saying sorry raises its head. Should you say sorry in a crisis? Does it constitute an admission of liability? And what’s the damage to your reputation if you don’t…

My crisis is over. Now what?

Brands, crisis comms, Crisis Management, recovery, reputation management

In a crisis, there’s a real temptation to focus on the here and now. Our instinct is to go into survival mode. It’s hard enough to think about getting through the next 24 hours, let alone to think about what to do once the crisis is over.

How do you deal with a crisis you never imagined could occur?

brand values, crisis communication, Crisis preparation, Crisis Simulation

Have you ever considered what you would do if, say, a newspaper said that your business was (incorrectly) a dogging site? (And no, I’m not defining that!) It might seem like an outlandish idea for you to consider, but as…

Creating resilient teams: how to support teams through a crisis

brand values, collaboration, communication, crisis training, leadership, mental health, teams, trust

While you can pay special attention to your team’s wellbeing during a crisis, one thing that’s a big help for people navigating tough situations is resilience. Resilience isn’t developed overnight. It’s also not necessarily something that carries over from home…

The role of leaders during a brand crisis

clarity, crisis communication, crisis strategy, leadership, recovery

Strong leadership can make the difference between a crisis that damages your reputation irrevocably, and one that you recover and learn from. A leader’s role during a crisis should include six areas: setting the strategy for the crisis; setting the…

The art of the apology: 5 ways to do it well

action, apologies, crisis communication