One of the very first steps in implementing a crisis-ready culture is to first define what a crisis is and means to your organization. But how should you go about doing this and does the definition of a crisis vary from company to company or from industry to industry? I answer this question in this week’s #crisisready video. Take a look:
Do you have a crisis management question you’d like me to answer?
Comment below or use the hashtag #crisisready on Twitter and I’ll do my best to answer your question in an upcoming video!
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
Hi Melissa. I liked the title “How To Define a Crisis For Your Organization” but I would like to have seen you spend just a little bit more time on emphasising “your organisation.” I agree with your broad definition, but I think its important to remember that a situation which might constitute a crisis for one organisation might not be so for another. There is a contextual overlay which contributes to this distinction. For example, a food poisoning incident at one store might not be a crisis for a multinational fast food chain which has teams of lawyers and experts. But the same incident at a one-store mom and pop bakery might well spell the end of the business, This distinction doesn’t detract from your definition, but it think it keeps people focused on what would be a crisis for THEM, rather than thinking about crises more generally.
Hi Tony,
Great point and addition. I agree that people should absolutely stay focused on what a crisis means for them, rather than looking at it more generally. Otherwise, it just doesn’t provide any helpful value to them. I do think that taking the approach of looking at the different aspects I’ve laid out in the above video should help them do that. To use your example with the food poisoning scenario, if the organization evaluates this type of an incident and its potential impact on their organization by looking at long-term impact on one or all of the 5 key aspects I point out in the video, they should be able to judge whether the scenario is a potential crisis to their organization or not.
However, that’s not to say I don’t have more videos lined up to go into more detail, where I do emphasize the “for your organization” aspect. You just beat me to it, Tony 😉 There’s only so much one can say in 3-4 minutes!
As always, your feedback is insightful and appreciated. Looking forward to your upcoming book!
Melissa
Are you aware of any best practices for ensuring crisis-PR capabilities within a company or organizational structures best suited to support issues/crisis management?
Hi Wendy,
Can you please provide me with a little more context? There are a lot of ways I can answer this question, so I want to make sure it’s the answer that will be the most helpful to you…
Thanks!