Most crises are unexpected, happening fast, like a traffic accident, explosion, fire, chemical leak, social media attack or a criminal arrest.
While a
crisis usually appears to be sudden, sometimes you should have seen it coming. For example, an embezzlement, product failure or leadership change.
More often than not, what you're probably facing is an
issue, a situation that can and should have been easily foreseen. For instance, three months from now you know you're going to close a plant, terminate a program, get a new board chair, acquire a company or announce a rate hike.
Whether it's a
crisis or an
issue, the skill set needed to manage both are the same. And the only difference is the amount of time you have to tell it all, tell it first and tell it fast.
You need a plan that answers these questions: What do you say, when do you say it, how do you say it and who do you say it to? For instance, next year you know you're going to lay off 50 employees. Your remaining employees, as well as your suppliers, customers and local elected officials better not hear about it in the media or on Facebook -- before hearing it from you.
While we sell "crisis" (hence our website name,
www.crisiscommunications.com ), the professionals at Hennes Communications understand the difference between crises and issues.
And now, we hope you do, too.
