A Crisis is Just a 'Situation' With No Plan

In my current role as a communications professional in the 'real world', I have seen many events, occasions and people to promote.  However, I have seen many events, occasions and actions of people turn very quickly into a 'situation'.  When that moment happens (typically in an instant), a communications person should be able to think on their toes and react appropriately.

The problem with working for an organization - for or not-for profit - is that more often than not the trained communications person has to jump through hoops to get a message out to the general public.  These are internal hoops that involve non-communicators adding their two cents.

I like to think that I have some talent in my field.  In fact, I've been told by the best marketing/public relations professionals that I don't bat an eye when the media is hammering me on an issue.  I've had people in MY field tell me that I know the media and communications world better than some still-practicing journalists.  But, many times, my talent, my experience, my knowledge of the business takes a backseat to the internal politics that inevitably runs all organizations.

My number one philosophy in effective communications is that a plan needs to be in place.  A comprehensive, strategic plan should be developed and implemented for all businesses wanting to succeed.  Not all situations are similar and you can't necessarily use a blanket 'template' to address all issues, but a general outline of key messaging needs to be defined so that all involved - internal and external audiences, decision makers, customers, board members, etc. - can be on the same page.

Too often I find that a situation is not appropriately addressed at the right time.  This pushes the situation forward into a full-blown crisis.  Then, to make matters worse, everyone becomes so busy trying to do or add to the role of the communicator that any plan that was in place at the beginning has fallen to the wayside.

Individuals are reactive by nature - but businesses should not be.  A well-laid business plan includes a comprehensive marketing plan which includes a well-executed communications plan.  If the business objectives don't coincide with the mission of the organization, or the marketing plan doesn't incorporate well-written communications materials, or the communications plan doesn't address the specific traditional and social media targets - the crisis will overtake the objectives of the business and business will fail (whether it's for a short amount of time or indefinitely).

I am a crisis communications expert.  I didn't go to school hoping that I would become an expert in putting out fires.  But, my professional experiences have shown me that an ounce of prevention is, in fact, worth a pound of cure.  They have also taught me that the general public views communicators, spokespeople, as they do news reporters.  They trust us.  They feel they know us.

I have received hate mail.  I have had voo-doo dolls of me displayed for many to see (by disgruntled employees who probably don't even know what the CEO looks like).  I have stuck to my guns, remained calmed in the face of adversity.  My internal crisis communications plan is to continue to reiterate the goals and mission of the organization while being blasted with a myriad of negative comments.

Very rarely is there a comprehensive crisis communications plan in place at an organization.  That is a shame.  So, if you know your business is without one, here is some advice in constructing one.

Identifying a crisis:

1) What is the situation?
2) Who is involved?
3) When did the situation occur?  When is expected end date?
4) Where did the situation occur?
5) How did the situation occur?
6) Why did it escalate into a crisis and what can we do to resolve?

How to address it:

1) What is the message that the organization wants to get out?
2) Who needs to be involved and who is the target audience?
3) When should the plan be initiated and for how long?
4) Where should the plan be executed (traditional media, social media, direct mail, etc.)?
5) How can you minimize negative publicity and promote positive stories?
6) Why have past plans failed or succeeded (analyze past plans and learn from best practices)?

Again, a situation does not need to escalate into a crisis.  But, if it does, thinking like a reporter (Who, What, When, Where, How and Why) can help alleviate the stress and chaos that typically comes with reactive thinking.

You Don't Have to Be Boring to Be a Professional

On the roller coaster of life, there are very few things of which I am an expert.  I have stated before that I know a little about a lot and a lot about little.  But the one thing that I do know with absolute certainty is that to get through the ups and downs and twirls of life's ride, one MUST have a sense of humor.
I am a sarcastic individual.  I would say I'm witty, but that's a bit egocentric as I believe in order to be witty or drop-dead funny, one has to be intelligent.  Some of the best comedians are smarter than many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. 
Take, for instance, John Stewart.  Not only does he have one-liners that can cause soda to come out one's nose, but he combines his humor with his political knowledge to fill a niche that very few can.  Professional comedians are just that - professionals.  It is their business to be funny. 
So, I find it fascinating when people who don't understand my business call me unprofessional because I actually try to insert humor into stressful situations.  I am a professional.  I can hang with radio guys, television personalities, old-school reporters or rookie 'journalists'.  I speak their language.  That language does not involve words in which they need a thesaurus to translate.  That language does not involve data and pie charts and ROI speak.  Their language is 10 second soundbites using language so easy a caveman can understand it.
I am a professional.  Throw me into a fire and I will come out smelling like roses...not charred ash.  It takes a certain skill set to be able to keep a level head when everything around you or your business is teetering to the brink.  Some call it 'crisis communications'.  However, I feel that if you take the right approach to any situation, if you have a strategic plan in place, there should be no crisis involved.
Communications is communications.  Talking is talking.  But knowing how to say things, when to say things and where to say things is more than a learned trait.  Like humor, you are born with the ability to read a situation or setting and adapt to it.
I am a professional.  A professional communicator.  A professional problem solver.  A professional money saver.  A professional marketer.  A professional thinker with the professional ability to get from idea to implementation with a snazzy, professional project plan.
I have been called immature, unprofessional, silly, sarcastic and sometimes funny.  So, I may be a bit humorous, but one thing I am not?  A professional comedian.

Traveling from Point A to Point B - Watch Out for Detours

This past week has been chaotic to say the least.  Anyone who has packed up the family and made a 14-hour trek with a two year-old, two dogs, and two cars filled to the brim is deserving of a medal.  My husband and I can share one...but we definitely deserve some accolades.

We drove back home to start planning our new life.  We got in on Sunday night, exhausted.  First thing Monday morning we had a meeting that can change the course of our lives forever.  After that meeting, we planned to look at houses, visit a bank, see our families, go on a date while Grandma and Grandpa watched the little one.

Needless to say Date Night on Monday didn't happen.  One of many plans that had to change during our 'mini-vacation'.  We found ourselves in 'expedite mode'.  Our number one priority was to find jobs.  But, until that happened, we had to find a house that was in a price range in which we could walk into a bank, ask for a loan and not have them laugh us out the door.

We searched and searched.  But, the houses in our price range were run down, former crack houses that belonged right next to the Ghetto Superstore we currently frequent.  My spirits began to fall while my anxiety level began to rise.

It's bad enough to be a grown adult with a child and have to depend on your in-laws for help.  Not only are they helping us while we get our feet on the ground, they agreed to co-sign a loan if need be.  But, they are also allowing the family to stay in their basement until we have a home.  While I love my in-laws, I would rather someone drill a 1/2" nail in the side of my head and pull it back out with no anesthesia.

My husband and I had a couple of great meetings with contacts to help us get our feet in the door at various businesses.  By Thursday night, I felt a bit better.  We bought my in-laws dinner and went over ground rules with them.  1) We will pay rent, we are not taking hand-outs.  2) WE are the parents.  We will discipline our son.  3) We will abide by your house rules, but we have ours as well.  4) We will buy our own groceries. 5) We will do our own laundry...please don't touch or fold my underwear.

Dinner was fine.  Everyone was receptive.  I felt better as I began packing my stuff so that I could leave at the butt-crack of dawn on Friday.  Why did I leave my husband and son behind to fend for themselves?  Because I have to finish out my job.  I have until the end of July (shoot me) to wrap up my work, to paint walls in the house, put flooring down, pack up everything else and then put the house on the market.  Fun times awaited me.

But, I had faith in my husband.  Faith that he could carry the torch on parenting while dealing with the awkward situation that is living with your mother --- when you're past your 30s.

I drove back with no dogs, no child, no husband.  I actually worked from my car and spoke to some friends, which helped the time pass.  And pass it did.  I made it back to the soon-to-be former Stoneking house in record time - 10.75 hours.  I'm not saying I was Speed Racer or anything.  But, there were less potty breaks, no time wasted trying to get dogs to eat regular, dry dog food with no treat food on it, no holiday traffic.

To say I crashed when I got home is an understatement.  But, Saturday was a new day.  A day to start painting.  A day to start packing.  A day to realize that there is a long, long road ahead of me.  Please for the love of all that is clean, PLEASE let it be a road with no detours.