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Crisis Management Today

Crisis Communications | Crisis Management | Litigation Communications | Media Training

September 15, 2018
Editor's Note: Our last issue was August 1. We now resume our usual twice-a-month schedule.

In the Headlines

Is the NFL Invincible?

It's football season. Does the National Football League still own Sundays? Rolling Stone writer Ryan Bort interviewed author Mark Leibovich about his new book, ‘Big Game' and the dysfunctional group of billionaires presiding over America’s most popular sport.

Lanny Davis is More Proof That 2018 is Year of Lawyers Living Dangerously

For lawyers, it has been a year of living dangerously. The scandals swirling around Washington have left a pile of attorneys accused of false statements, leaks or other improper conduct. The latest casualty appears to be Lanny Davis, who just admitted to not only spreading a false story but then lying about being its source.

How Mayo Clinic Responded Directly to a Damaging News Report

A CNN report titled “Escape from Mayo Clinic” alleged that Mayo Clinic had held a patient against her will and refused her request to transfer to another hospital, an assertion that officials of the health care facility strongly disputed. What do you do when a reporter seems to have a “pre-determined narrative” about the situation?

Lessons From a School on Handling Social Media Crises

It’s back to school time. And class is now in session on how to handle a social media crisis. On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend in 2017, the leadership team at a school that Hennes Communications has worked with got wind of a tweet. The tweet was directed at the school and it simply said: “Handle this.”

Our Perspective

Crisis Management’s Hottest Communications Tool Today is a 19th Century Technology?

A crisis boils over in your company. What do you do? Push a message out by email? Post to your company website, mobile app and social platforms?

Cyber Attacks

"To protect critical infrastructure and manage cyber risk associated with industrial operations, executives need to execute well across three dimensions: improve visibility, incorporate modern cyber defenses, and ensure preparedness
in case an incident does occur."
Edgard Capdevielle, writing in Chief Executive Magazine

“It all starts with acknowledging the problem is real —
and that the threat is increasing.”
U.S. Department of Energy

For more on this subject, click here.

Upcoming Speaking Events

9/17 Texas State Bar Assoc.

9/18 Dallas Legal Bar Assoc.

9/18 Dallas Legal Marketing Assoc.

9/19 Houston Bar Assoc.

9/27 American Municipal Power (Cleveland)

10/3 Electric Utility Cons. (Chicago)
10/6 Ashland Univ. Sch. of Business
10/12 Council of Sch. Attorneys (Charleston, SC)
10/17 Rowfant Club (Cleveland)
10/22 Leading Edge (San Diego)

View More Events

Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How.

When is the best time to plan for a business or family disaster?

The Department of Homeland Security considers National Preparedness Month “a springboard for building a culture of preparedness,” with themed weeks helping Americans make emergency plans, learn life-saving skills and be financially prepared for a disaster. FEMA estimates that fewer than half of Americans take all three of the recommended actions to build emergency preparedness. This year’s National Preparedness Month theme is “Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How.”

“Thinking ahead can save lives. So we are working to create a ‘culture of preparedness’ nationwide, which requires all Americans to prioritize preparedness efforts in their daily lives. I urge all of you to take the time to evaluate your preparedness and learn how to protect your family so that if disaster strikes, you are ready,” said DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The various weeks focus on making and practicing an emergency plan, including signing up for weather and emergency alerts and learning local evacuation routes; life-saving skills, such as learning how to shut off the gas in one’s home; proper installation, placement and upkeep of smoke alarms; mitigation against the potential effects of disasters such as floods and earthquakes; making sure one’s insurance coverage is comprehensive, including flood insurance; and disaster financial planning, including preparation of the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit.

Important Disaster Prep Links for Business & Home

Preparedness Planning for Your Business
Businesses and their staff face a variety of hazards: natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes; health hazards such as widespread and serious illnesses like the flu; human-caused hazards including accidents and acts of violence; technology-related hazards like power outages and equipment failure.

Preparedness Planning for Your Family
Active shooter, bioterrorism, chemical emergencies, cybersecurity, drought, earthquakes, emergency alerts, explosions, extreme heat, floods, hazardous materials incidents, home fires, household chemical emergencies, hurricanes, landslides & debris flow, nuclear explosion, pandemic, power outages, radiological dispersion device, severe weather, snowstorms & extreme cold, space weather, thunderstorms & lightning, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes & wildfires.

You have a situation. We have a strategy.
Because the Court of Public Opinion is always in session.

Call us 24/7 at 216-321-7774.

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Short Takes

Local News Is Dying, and It’s Taking Small Town America With It  Bloomburg

You Took Lousy iPhone Photos. Here’s How to Make Them Beautiful.  New York Times

Don’t Be Like the King and Queen of Soul – Make A Will.  CoolCleveland

How to Cure Your Dread of Public Speaking  Harvard Business Review

Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System to be Conducted on Sept. 20 Homeland Security Today

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