A crisis can hit any business at any time. It could start as negative news that snowballs, terrible online reviews, or even an ill-advised foray into social media. This type of event can tarnish your brand, harm your relationship with your customers, and have a damaging effect on key business outcomes.
How the executive teams respond today will define their company’s tomorrow. Here are some insights on how leaders should respond at this time.
Legionella can make people ill and has been linked to dozens of deaths. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Legionella bacteria, normally found in fresh water such as lakes and streams, can infiltrate water systems and colonize in showerheads, sinks, water heaters, cooling towers and even fountains if they are not treated properly.
This already violent year now carries the ugly scars of two more mass shootings, this time in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which killed more than 30 people and inflicted devastating wounds on dozens more. The shooter in each instance respected no place and no one. Their bullets ripped through victims of all ages, genders, races and origins.
When a modern-day crisis unfolds, gone are the days where executives can assemble in a war room to assess the potential damage and then take their time to formulate a response to appease the media and, more importantly, assuage the fears of their loyal customers - their most treasured asset.
Organizations must no longer think, 'This won’t happen to us.' Recent events remind us that we have an obligation, to our staff, membership, guests and attendees, to have a program in place that will mitigate risks, knowing we are vulnerable to certain crises and that we must be prepared for them.
We hear too often that CEOs delegate responsibility for crisis management to subordinates, including legal, operations, HR and public relations staff. CEOs who delegate rationalize that their subordinates are strong leaders who can handle crises without them. But, as history has shown time and again, there is a direct relationship between how quickly a CEO takes ownership of a crisis and preservation of the organization’s reputation.
The growing frequency of political protests and counter-demonstrations creates security concerns for event venues, including convention centers, hotels, colleges and university campuses. With the next general election cycle on the horizon, increased public protests are a certainty.
Each year, the U.S. averages a dozen tropical depression storms, with many developing into Category 3, or higher, hurricanes. According to the National Hurricane Center, 2017 was one of the most destructive seasons on record. Last week Hurricane Michael, an unexpected Category 4 storm devastated an entire town in the panhandle of Florida.
Board members are increasingly being pulled from their elevated vantage point into the thick of cybersecurity issues. The possibility of being held personally liable in the event of a breach is one motivator to roll up their sleeves.