29th June 2017
David Schraeder dispenses some crisis management advice.
Your company has taken a hit and its reputation is slightly less stellar than it was before the matter all began. You and your executive team are feeling exhausted as you worked tirelessly to keep the business going while simultaneously dealing with the high intensity crisis. Even your employees are a bit worn down by it all as they’ve seen their company pilloried in business publications and on social media.
It’s all a bit much. So now what? Who will believe us when we want to tell them about the good things we’re doing that have nothing to do with what happened (at least in our minds)?
To start with, whatever happened is now part of your history and your story. Over time, as your good work takes center stage once again, the hard-hitting pieces in the Wall Street Journal, TIME and on CNBC (oh, did your stock crater when they produced that piece…) will fade from page one of your Google results. But they’ll still be out there for all time.
Chances are that your crisis, while damaging, won’t remain top of mind for long. At least not with the broader public, though certain discrete audiences are going to keep reminding you of it for a long time.
Depending on how the company conducted itself during the crisis, you need to take a few basic steps to begin to regain your footing, and your confidence:
By taking these steps you’ll regain your confidence. It’s easy to feel anxious and afraid when you’re staring at your monitor and wondering what someone might say. It’s empowering to act, move forward, generate positive energy, and visualize opportunity rather than risk and failure.
Remember that there’s a big world out there, and despite what you think, people have moved on to the next crisis anyway. You need to, as well.
David Schraeder leads Grayling's crisis management practice in the US. Download the PDF for more details.
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