Tag Archives: celebrity media training

Crisis Communication – Are You Ready?

Chipotle. Volkswagen. Nate Parker. Companies and individuals who did not have a crisis communication plan in place and did not manage well.

Crises occur without warning and very often without a plan or a team in place to manage them. The resulting environment is disorganized and emotional resulting in poor decisions that exacerbate the problem. The way crises are handled, including strategy and communication, can mean the difference between a business being able to right the ship or, in the worst case, sink it.

And I’m sorry to say it, but today and for at least the next four years,  all businesses are at risk for crises that they did not cause, yet may not be able to recover from.

But there are ways to be ready even if you don’t know what’s coming or when it will hit.

First, it’s critical to understand the geopolitical environment. In the US, we are in a unique and unprecedented moment. Intemperate and ill-thought-out statements or criticisms that often have no basis in fact are being spread by leaders via social media and emboldening followers who have buying power. We have just seen this with Carrier, Boeing, and the auto companies.

Second, business leaders must position and fortify the company accordingly. No company is beyond reproach. Bad things happen and the company is often at fault. But what is a corporate leader to do when there has been no accident, no shoddy craftsmanship, or no personal bad behavior? You must decide whether this is a company that has values and stands up for them, or caves at the first gust of wind. I liken this to building structures that can withstand a hurricane. It’s a good metaphor.

Third, there must be a rapid response or crisis team already in place that can quickly develop messages that resonate and apply the discipline necessary for them to function. Sometimes the initial messages are what I call “holding statements.” A good holding statement could be something like, “We are on top of the XYZ issue, take it very seriously, we are working hard to get to the bottom of it.” Also, there always has to be a promise of more information to come. Either the business controls the story, or outsiders will do it for them.

Fourth, identify the best spokesperson. This is often – but not always – the CEO. While the CEO or senior-most leader must make some appearances, another executive who is skilled in delivering information in a variety of press and digital environments might actually be the best regular spokesperson who can deliver reports and handle press conferences, enabling and positioning the CEO and his or her team as the best people to remedy the situation, bringing the CEO in at the most opportune and critical moments.

Fifth, do regular “fire drills.” Practice, practice, practice. It is unpleasant to imagine things could go awry and there are certainly more interesting things to do and other fires to extinguish. But as I always counsel my clients, being prepared is the best bulwark against a downward slide that could result in a drop in the company’s value, at best, or the company’s demise, at worst,

These steps may sound like fear-mongering or hysteria, but in today’s new geopolitical world, being prepared to manage the twin goals of calming and satisfying customers and markets and protecting the reputations of the company and its leadership requires nothing less.

 

While Everyone Zigs, Donald Trump Zags and Why You Should, Too

It’s an old advertising/marketing adage: If everyone zigs, you zag.

What this means is you have to stand out, do the unexpected, un-follow the herd. We have a prime illustration of how successful this strategy can be in Donald Trump. He has been so successful, in fact, he could become the next POTUS, a terrifying thought.

Like a lot of media commentators, I stated early on Trump was a passing fancy, a man of the moment. I thought he would fade and soon. After all, how could someone who says and does such absurd things be taken seriously by voters?

I was so wrong and as a communication expert, I should’ve known better.

First, I always thought his slogan was perfect and the best of the lot, by far. I still do. “Make America Great Again” hits so many marks in message creation and framing, it’s hard to know where to start.

Second, since he announced over 8 months ago, he has been a daily fixture in the media. No other candidate has come close, not even Hillary Clinton. Trump knows it’s a bad day when he’s not being covered. He takes the cliché, “the only thing worse than bad publicity is no publicity,” to new heights.

Third, he has a strong POV and no filters.

Fourth, he knows what the media wants. More important, he knows what many people want and has tapped into how they are feeling. He says and does things that we have never seen publicly in a presidential candidate before. We’re shocked, but titillated. We shield our eyes, but we cannot turn away. We all say, “Oh, how awful,” but we secretly admire his chutzpah and skill (at least I do). We even agree with him on some things.  We cannot stop reading and watching. As a result, the long-suffering press industry has been presented with a financial windfall and, thus, has a stake in keeping him front and center.

It’s a very hungry beast and Trump knows how to feed it.

Trump knows the more outrageous his statements or behaviors, the more likely it is he’ll be covered. So he makes a habit of it and the media jumps. The outcome is all Trump all the time, a level of saturation that big advertisers can only dream of and Trump is getting for free! If you’re inclined to believe “A Diamond is Forever” or “You’re in Good Hands With All State,” then it stands to reason that “Make America Great Again” and its author have made a little home in that place in your brain that wants desperately to believe someone is out there who can make it all better.

Donald Trump may be the greatest “zagger” in modern times and though I personally think a President Trump would be a disaster (to use one of Donald’s favorite words), there are several things we can learn by watching him:

    • Identify what makes you different. Trump thinks of himself as the “strong man” among “weaklings.” He demonstrates it through his words and behavior. Your differentiator could be the way you serve clients or do your work. It can be your online branding or even your personal attire. Figure out how to “show, not tell.”
    • Follow your instincts. Unlike Donald Trump, most of us have filters. That is a double edged sword. It’s good if it enables you to entertain opposing viewpoints. It’s bad if it keeps you from saying something that needs to be said. If you feel something or hear that little voice, or if something doesn’t quite fit, acknowledge it, make sure stakeholders know your thinking and why, quickly course-correct, and move on.
    •  Know what you know. Certitude has always been a great sales technique and Trump has an excess of it. There are things we all know to be true others may find controversial. Don’t be afraid to state them unequivocally and remain steadfast in the face of criticism and pushback. It may mean some clients fall away or you push them away or find  employment that’s a better fit. This can be so difficult and painful, but it’s also freeing and  will create space for better things ahead.
    • Stick with it. Discipline is key. Trump has been doing his zagging consistently since he announced last June. Consistency works… even if what someone is saying is ridiculous. Why is this? Because repetition has a way of inspiring belief. (Again, I refer you to the major advertisers.) Don’t give up. If you become dislodged, get back in there.

Learn from Donald Trump, but don’t be like Donald Trump. He may be a role model as a marketer, but not as a human being and certainly not as a leader for this country. In his case, they are separate. In yours, they shouldn’t be.

5 Steps to A Winning Performance Mindset in 2016

Ruth’s Truth: It’s no longer enough to be good at your job. Lots of people are good. The competition is fierce and the market increasingly crowded with good workers. Today, if you want to advance, you have to be great. Albert Einstein great. Oscar and Pulitzer winning great. Super Bowl and Stanley Cup great. Aretha Franklin great. You get the picture.

What you may not get is what’s necessary to achieve greatness. So here’s a secret: You do not have to be a genius or even have a high IQ. You just have to have a passion for your area of expertise and practice until you’re blue in the face. This is what every masterful professional knows. The other thing they know is most of their competitors won’t do what it takes, creating a tremendous opportunity for those who do.

Actors and athletes become skilled through repetition. 5 hours of practicing a single scene, 5 hours of a single passage, 5 hours of foul shots. Daily for weeks and months and years on end. Scientists must constantly experiment through failure after failure. Yet they persist.

But how does this type of practice translate to a more traditional workplace?

During the typical office workday, there are so many tasks it’s hard to know what to focus on. Furthermore, the distractions are legion and growing. This is where most people get tripped up (including me and no, I’m not going to give you any advice on turning off your devices. I never advise people to do things I don’t or won’t do). What I will suggest is that you focus your practice on the 2 or 3 tasks that will advance you. These fit into two categories: Technical and communication. You need the technical skills to do the job. You need the communication skills to persuade people to give you what you need to continue your pursuit of technical mastery and to teach others. In both categories, you must be willing to stretch and take risks, which is frightening. I’ve come to believe this is why most people won’t excel. They don’t want the discomfort the fear causes.

People are often surprised when I share my own experiences of getting to mastery. They often don’t want to hear that I practice constantly, read for hours, stretch myself, and scare myself half to death in the process!

There is another discomfort, too, which is the tedium and boredom that sets in when practicing a task over and over again. Progress can be glacial and it’s difficult to stick with it when improvement is so slow that you don’t think you’ll ever get there. Which brings me to the other thing: greatness takes patience. In our age of instant gratification, people have lost this ability.

Ready to be world class? Here are 5 performance mindset steps:

  1.  Identify your passions.
  2.  Select 2 technical skills and 1 communication skill you want to improve.
  3.  Practice them every day – until you’re “blue in the face” – knowing it will be tedious and boring.
  4.  Take risks, push through your fears, and deal with the discomfort.
  5.  Be patient. You will improve.

Greatness is not reserved for the pre-ordained few. It’s there for you but only if you do the work. If you want help with the communication piece of your journey, I’m here for you.