Crisis Proofing Your Organization (And Probably Your Career) · Crisis Proofing Your Organization...

Crisis Proofing Your Organization (And Probably Your Career)

By James E. LukaszewskiABC, Fellow IABC; APR, Fellow PRSA, BEPS Emeritus

May 17, 2017

James E. LukaszewskiABC, Fellow IABC; APR, Fellow PRSA; BEPS Emeritus

203-948-7029 (24/7 Cell)[email protected] www.e911.comLinkedIn.com/in/jameslukaszewski@jimlukaszewski

2Copyright © 2017, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved.

Jim’s Bio

James (Jim) E. Lukaszewski (Loo-ka-SHEV-skee) speaks annually before thousands of people, engaging a wide variety of local, statewide, national and international organizations and associations. He is a:

– Powerful Speaker– Important Author– Inspiring Teacher– Trusted Advisor

Jim talks about leadership and victim management in crisis, the ingredients of leadership and overcoming opposition. His goal is often to help managers build, rebuild or reestablish trust in adversely affected organizations, cultures and communities. His diverse audiences include business groups, state and federal government agencies at all levels, U.S. military services (DINFOS) and intelligence agencies, law enforcement, chemical industries, trade and professional associations, large businesses, extractive industries, transportation, healthcare and insurance groups, academia and more. He is a consummate storyteller.


Crisis Defined

• Crises are show-stopping, people-stopping, product-stopping, reputation-defining situations that create victims and/or explosive visibility.

• Crisis Management vs Crisis Readiness


Presentation Objectives– Develop plans that manage the first few minutes, few

hours of a crisis. – Plan against the patterns of mistakes and problems

management tends to cause themselves when crisis occurs.

– Meaningfully involve management in the process of crisis planning and management.

– Develop plans that reflect fundamentally sound thinking.

– Understand the power of victims.– Managing the Victim Dimension.– Organize your thinking about crisis.

Copyright © 2017, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved. 5

Categories of Crisis

– Ops crises = 95% of all crises/5% risk

– Non-ops crises = 5% of all crises/95% risk

– DisastersThreat is response dependent


– Breaches– Criminal activity– Employee trouble

– Executive criminal behavior– Executive failure– Reputation damage

The Six Types of Crises Are…

1. Operatingi.e., directly involving how the business works every day

2. Non-operating


Non-Operating Crisis Examples

These include:– Berserk employee– Bomb threats– Bullying– Business loss– Crimes in progress– Criminal behavior– Decapitation– Demonstration/ Protest– Disgruntled employees– Major theft– Ethics problems

– Extortion– Kidnapping– Litigation– Obscene/Coercive

behavior– Scandal– Sexual harassment– Sudden stock drop– Terrorist attack– Web attacks– Whistle blowers– Workplace violence



3. Combinations of the two, or more



– Earthquakes– Evacuation– Explosion– Fire/flames– Flooding/torrential rain– General disruptions/threats– Hazardous

materials/chemical spills/gas leaks/toxic fumes

– Major storms

– Medical emergencies– News media response– Noxious odors– Power outages– Ruptured water pipes– Smoke/burning odors– Tornado– Winter storms

4. Disasters



– Lax control– Lack of tough, appropriate centralized compliance– No one charged with responsibility of teaching, enforcing or

disciplining– Leadership that allows supervisors to overlook bad behavior– Leadership that allows employees to experiment with methods

and tactics outside established guidelines– Emphasis on “doing whatever it takes”– Managers and supervisors who minimize the importance of

oversight and compliance processes


5. Insidious unethical behaviors


– Structuring incentives in a way that can compromise ethical behavior

– Avoiding confrontation– The tendency to operate “on the edge”– Management that ignores the signs of rogue behavior– Management tolerating inappropriate behavior by individuals

who are “critical to the organization’s mission”– Belittling or humiliating those who suggest or seek ethical

standards– Dismissing or destroying the careers of employees who report

bad or outright wrong behavior– Demeaning the credibility of those who blow the whistle

Copyright © 2017, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved.

5. Insidious unethical behaviors (continued)

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6. Virtual Crisis– Anti-corporate activism– Anti-corporate blogs– Boycotts– Bullying– Imposter sites– Personal attacks– Pornography links– Rumors– Short selling– Social media activity/attacks– Web attacks/Websites


Readiness: The Readiness Equation

– Accurate contact information– Pre-authorization– Extensive scenario preparation and testing– Surprise


75%15%8%2%100%

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The Realities of Reputation Damage

– Bad news always ripens badly.– Reputation damage never starts in the

mailroom, always look up. – It gets worse before it gets better.– Your response will be criticized by

people who weren’t there, quoting people who weren’t there either.


The Realities of Reputation Damage

– Speed beats smart every time.

– Your response can be operationally perfect, but if you fumble, mumble, and bungle the victims and the communications; this is how your response will be remembered.


Profiles in Failure

1. Silence2. Stalling3. Denial4. Victim confusion5. Testosterosis6. Arrogance7. Search for the guilty8. Fear of exposure9. Management by whining around10. Old management out, new management in


First Response StrategyPart I (The Grand Strategy)

– Stop victim production– Manage victim dimension– Communicate with employees (internally first)– Notify the indirectly affected– Cope with the self-appointed, self-anointed– Activate website/social media attack/action

response strategy (SMART)– Manage the record


Manage the Victim Dimension

Or suffer their wrath and power

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May be a new destiny for you and your career…


Victims Are

– People– Animals– Living systems


Victimization Is

– Self-designating– Self-maintaining– Self-terminating


Causes of Victimization

– Abuse– Arrogance– Assault– Bullying– Callousness– Carelessness– Commission– Deception– Dismissiveness– Fear

– Humiliation– Ignorance– Lies– Neglect/negligence– Omission– Sarcasm– Shame– Surprise


Victims Feel

Anger– Disbelief, dread, fear, rage

Frustration– Powerlessness, helplessness

Inadequacy– Wounded, agonized, alone, abandoned

Betrayal– Trust no one, no one to trust


Victims Suffer

• Intellectual deafness• Internal and external

monologue 24/7• Everything is a question


Victims Need

Validation – Preferably from the perpetrator

Visibility– To describe their pain and warn others

Vindication – Credit for their sacrifice that prevents the victimization of others


Victims Need

Apology: The atomic energy of empathy– Verbal or written admission of

responsibility for causing suffering– Specific recognition and description of the

damaged caused – Lessons learned and changes made to

prevent the situation from happening again– Seek/ask for forgiveness– Offer of restitution


Apology Stops

– Bad things from starting

– Litigation


29 states have enacted laws excluding expressions of sympathy after accidents as proof of liability.

19 states have enacted laws excluding expressions of sympathy and apology after adverse medical outcomes by medical staffs as proof of liability.


Leadership Recovery

Management’s Most Crucial Roles:– Assert the moral authority expected of ethical

leadership.– Take responsibility for the care of victims.– Set the appropriate tone for the response.– Commit random acts of leadership.


Crisis Planning Steps

1. Visibility analysis– Planned visibility– Unplanned visibility

2. Key issue identification3. Scenario development4. Website/SMART Team development5. Message structures and sequence6. Installation, testing, and updating


Identify and ReduceRisks and Exposures

– Be preemptive

– Find tripping points

– Right decisions first


Prepare to Communicate Intentionally

1.Candor2.Openness, accessibility3.Truthfulness4.Responsiveness5.Empathy/apology6.Transparency7.Engagement8.Clarification & correction


Key Issue Identification

Prioritize:

– Likelihood of happening– Impact– Collateral damage potential


The Template

– Simple, teachable model– Focuses on the key response concepts– Road map to successful responses– Mindset of readiness– Global approach– Basis for strategic management

discussion


Scenarios as Tools

Scenarios:– Hypothesize the probable chronology of events.– Examine hypothetical situations.– Identify options for dealing with crisis.– Suggest recommendations based on those options.– Forecast unintended consequences.– Identify key contacts and needed corporate resources.– Distill value, if any, from past experience.

Successful readiness is always scenario-based.


The Crisis Website Desktop

Scenario-based dark sites:

1. Facts and data2. Questions and answers3. Issues at stake4. Corrections and clarifications5. Interactive features6. Opening Tweets


Establish Your Social Media Response Process

Establish a SMART Team:SocialMediaAction/AttackResponseTeam


Installation and Testing

– Coaching and training– Drills– Right way/wrong way problems– Simulation– Tabletops– Updating


Stay Ready

– Develop an exposure management/surveillance process.

– Indoctrinate managers and supervisors.– Maintain a Social Media Action/Attack Response

Team (SMART).– Maintain an active first response team.– Ongoing preparation and training.– Practice ongoing preparation with annual

simulations.– Establish prevention processes. – Share case studies.– Use right way/wrong way models.


Stay Alert/Stay Ready

– Continuously evaluate your vulnerabilities.

– Manage your exposure.– Routinely brief management on

threats.


Five Crucial Readiness Tests

Does your response strategy:

1. Involve top management from the beginning?

2. Overcome common response deficiencies?3. Avoid indecision and failure behaviors?4. Include a management-level response

plan?5. Require testing, simulations, validation?



Questions?

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Connect with Jim

203-948-7029 (24/7 Cell)[email protected] www.e911.comLinkedIn.com/in/jameslukaszewski@jimlukaszewski


BOOK JIM to speak at your next event!


www.e911.com/book-jim

203-948-7029

Crisis Proofing Your Organization (And Probably Your Career) · Crisis Proofing Your Organization...

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