Imagine when faced with a crisis, your team has to start from a zero-based approach. Is it not better to have a blueprint designed to guide you before, during, and after a crisis?

A Written Crisis Management and Communication Response plan is essential in today’s always-on, 24/7 world. News and information flow in “real-time” and Stakeholders expect you to respond effectively to crisis reality and communication challenges.

When a crisis hits an organization, it is time for Crisis Managers to take the lead and a plan guides the way.

Crises offer organizations both immense opportunities and threats. A Crisis has the potential to destroy people, fine reputations, disrupt operations and destroy share prices and the integrity of an organization.

The challenge lies in how to respond to and in such an event.

Appropriate Crisis Response includes preparation, response, and recovery components, but more than that it is led and managed by well-trained, competent leaders that understand the how, why and what of a crisis and can lead through the proverbial stormy seas.

The Importance of the First Responder

There are first responders in any incident. Sometimes it is the trained first aider that rushes to deal with an injury, sometimes it is the PR department fielding a call from the media alleging environmental pollution, other times it may be the HR and Security managers that have to attend to an incident of workplace violence.

First Responders may be in your legal department fielding product recall liabilities, but regardless of their specific job titles, they must be capable of grasping the enormity of a critical event as it unfolds. “Before first responders arrive to assess a crisis, your internal leaders need to be prepared for – and trained in – the science of crisis response”, to quote Laurence Barton in the excellent book Crisis Leadership Now – A Real-world Guide to Preparing for Threats, Disaster, Sabotage, and Scandal.

Crisis Managers understand that what at first seems like a non-specific event or problem could rapidly escalate into being a genuine crisis. I like to call these smoldering crises, small, insignificant events that can result in unplanned visibility should it go public.

A smouldering crisis is any serious business problem which is not generally known within or without the organisation, which may generate negative news coverage if or when it goes “public” and could result in fines, penalties, or unbudgeted expenses or breakdown of relationships.

Crisis Managers understand their industry and worry about potential incidents that can harm them. Oil companies like Engen, BP, and PETROSA worry about potential refinery fires, explosions, spills, and other disruptions – and there are specific grounds for that. A Few years ago the Engen refinery in Durban was hit by lightning resulting in a major fire and millions of rands of damage.

Organizations like Sasol worry about a recurrence of the explosion that claimed a number of lives.

Organizations worry because even though they have excellent health & safety records, not even the best crisis prevention plans cannot always a momentary lapse of reason, an oversight, or just plain human error.

Others worry about potential product recalls – and you should if you are selling, manufacturing, or distributing – as we have had a number of high profiled withdrawals.

Other organizations worry about workplace stoppages’, outages, and potential mistrust being created through wrongful actions by employees.

Research shows that no organization is immune. And that should make you worry whether you are a director, shareholder, or employee.

But worry is like a rocking chair. You move back and forward but go nowhere. Should you not train your leaders in the science of crisis response?

Should you not be preparing for a crisis by creating a cadre of competent potential crisis leaders? That decision is yours.

Just remember that Noah built the Ark before it rained. This training and/or toolkit will help you to be prepared and to be a Crisis Leader like Noah.

The post What will you do when faced with a Crisis? appeared first on Deon Binneman.

The beauty about stories is that they are like metaphors. I once saw a study that said that metaphors appeal to both the left and the right side of the brain.

I am not a Buddhist, yet am extremely fond of Zen Koans.

The way I try and do it is to research before every group facilitation stories, anecdotes, metaphors and humor that I can have in the “wings” based on the diversity of the group.

That way I may have options available to “unlock the potential” of someone.

Just like a builder uses solid construction practices, we need to design or build our training based on proven ways that the brain works. We know a lot about adult learning principles and how the brain works. The “best practice”of using metaphors and analogies takes advantage of at least two key facts:

–  The brain works by building connections and associations.

–  The brain remembers more easily things that are novel or unusual.

The right analogy or metaphor can be quite novel, build connections to the material you are teaching and often create the “aha” experience the learners need to effectively learn the new information.

Let me use an example. If I am working with a group of executives about the organization’s reputation, I will tell them that they have to be careful how they communicate, how they behave as it will impact on the way stakeholders perceive them. That is a linear and left brain approach.

But for some this story will have more impact.

SPOKEN  WORDS  CAN’ T  BE  RETRIEVED

A farmer slandered his neighbor. Realizing his mistake, he went to the preacher to ask for forgiveness. The preacher told him to take a bag of feathers and drop them in the centre of  town. The farmer did as he was told . Then the preacher asked him to go and collect the feathers and put them back in the bag. The farmer tried but couldn’t as the feathers had all blown away.

When he returned with the empty bag, the  preacher said, “The same thing is true about  your words. You  dropped them rather easily but you cannot retrieve them, so be very careful in choosing your words.”

Which one has more impact for you?

It depends on your style of learning and brain dominance preference. In today’s society this message extends to social media updates.

The post Why I Love Using Stories To Teach The Importance Of Reputation appeared first on Deon Binneman.

Being well informed and able to anticipate issues and incidents are two vital skills for any budding Reputation Manager. So is the ability to see linkages between seemingly unrelated incidents and issues.

This process I call dot connecting. It has its origins in systems thinking.

Since December 2016 I have received countless of emails with consultant and expert predictions and trends analysis. Here is my analysis of the “common threads”. Hopefully I have connected some dots for you.

Lack of Trust

Lack of Trust will increase. In a world where fewer and fewer organisations and individuals, TRUST politicians, corporations and the processes that create our lives, some companies and individuals will realize that they have to act responsible and become model corporate examples.

The divided landscape in SA and the US clearly illustrates the need for stakeholder identification, earlier engagement and more robust trust building.

Other studies show that cconsumers listed trust and good service as the biggest factor influencing the reputation of companies. The rise of social media has also helped to amplify customers’ feedback, giving rise to a new kind of public accountability. Think VW and medicine such as the Ancel Keys revelations.

The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer has revealed that the South African population’s trust in its government, media and business, is in steady decline. The barometer, which measures peoples’ trust in four institutions – government, media, business and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) – has revealed that above-average levels of fear about corruption, immigration and the erosion of social values are having an impact on the way South Africans perceive their country.

Ways and means to build and restore trust in organisations will become a top priority.

Attempts to Improve Trust will escalate

Attempts to engender trust through corporate social investment, transparent reporting and stakeholder engagement will increase. Unfortunately this will be of little help unless there is change in listening practices and concrete actions. In the South African context lack of listening is epitomised by contant burning of tires by communities, changes in political management at municipal levels and heightened security practices at Parliament level.

In many industries stakeholders will take management teams to task and these companies will face an uphill battle to respond timeously to stakeholder demands, activist actions and public opinion. Some companies will realise that they need to go beyond the obvious and demonstrate real commitment to sustainable transformation, especially in the Southern African context. In general, companies will need to heighten their stakeholder communication and engagement practices.

The Rise of 3rd Party Social Auditing

The demands for social and environmental audits of corporate reports, codes and practices will increase and stakeholders will no longer be happy with just being told. They will want proof  and will demand independent auditing (Example – annual ISO audits) and verification of responsible citizen behaviour, accountability, transparency, governance and reputation building practices.

Companies will need to work closer with stakeholder experts and auditors. Studies like The Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, measures public opinion of the US most recognizable companies and respondents are asked to rate companies based on six components: emotional appeal, products and services, vision and leadership, workplace environment, social responsibility, and financial performance. These areas reveals the companies with the best (and worst) reputations.

In the South African environment there are a number of organisations providing research services in this important fact finding exercise.

Crises will Increase due to Heightened Scrutiny

More and more companies will incur crises simply because their risk, stakeholder and auditing departments are not doing a proper job to uncover both tangible and intangible risks.

As it stands, the fallout from the Gupta state capture issue is still reverberating. How come the misuse of “power” and “influence” was only detected so late? Who is next in South Africa? Whose job responsibility is it anyway to guage thought leadership, and the undue influence of power? Surely the In-house Stakeholder Relations experts should have reported on this?

Media outlets will report new allegations about improper behaviour by CEO’s and CEO’s will be even more scrutinized than in the past. Some of this reporting may be fake news. CEO’s will realize that their decision-making approaches and ethical behaviour need re-evaluation, and that stakeholder reactions and expectations will have to be taken into account. The use of strategic communication interventions and platforms using the CEO will become vital.

Crisis Communication Preplanning will become more important

Crisis Communication Preplanning will become more important. Budgeting for enhanced security will become an ongoing additional cost moving forward and needs to be taken seriously as anyone who doesn’t believe that events that took place in Paris and other European locales couldn’t take place in other countries is sadly mistaken. Already the SA Government has intercepted suspicious individuals with terrorist ties at our borders.

The increased security may cause delays in events for instance and communication with customers will be necessary to educate them to be vigilant and understand threats without scaring them. Not everyone will automatically understand your messaging and constant reeasearch on the efefctivesness of security communication will be necessary.

The poor handling of the Ford Kuga recall illustrates the need for more time to be spent by management teams on brainstorming and preplanning for crises. Thought processes, actions and protocols should be examined and tested BEFORE events happen. BUT, what about restoration of trust and reputation AFTER a crisis?

What happens after a recall or crisis? How does the business recover? How does a company manage the impact on its employees, its customers, and its reputation? The truth is, after the event, the work – the hard work – really begins. Designing an approach that focuses on the impact of an event and subsequent of trust is quite different and requires a different approach than designing a plan that focuses on the initial occurrence of the event. Both processes are different and will deserves much thought.

Cybersecurity risk will increase

Cybersecurity risk is a growing concern, Crisis practitioners will need to prepare for potential data breaches and other cyber-threats and the reputation risk it may bring. An article “Businesses Fear Brand Damage More Than Security Breaches – Organizations struggling with risk management are more concerned about brand damage than cyberattacks, a new Ponemon study shows. Can you afford to ignore cyber security? An article in the Financial Director asks.

The Velocity of Social Media will continue

The velocity with which information flows will continue to catch executives by surprise. Deloitte reports in an article “Explore 10 trends shaping the future of risk” – Analysis: Reputation risks accelerate and amplify” that in today’s hyper-connected world dominated by mobile devices, social media, and evolving expectations from society, information can spread like wildfire. This convergence of mobile and social media is intensifying the impact of reputation risks for organizations and is driving them to fundamentally rethink their approaches to risk management and proactively address these accelerated, amplified risks.

Already the IoT (Internet of Things) predictions are heating up. In an article by HP  Futurists Explain Why Technology Will ‘Disappear’ in 2030 there is a quote that illustrates the increased use of big data in our lives- “Humans aren’t the best at understanding or mitigating risks.”

The Rise of Fake News

A recent study by Dr. Jonathan Albright of Elon University, show that there is significant concern about the destruction of reputations through fake news sources. Add in the recent explosion of online rating websites and the need for public relations professionals to actively work to protect brands is even more apparent. There is little doubt this phenomenon will continue to be a growing challenge. It cannot be solved with one-click algorithms from “IT firms” who send out generic responses to complaints. Rather, this new reality requires thoughtful consideration from communications professionals.

Your organisation will have to reevaluate its website and ways in which it shares information, to ensure that you are a trusted news source. Read this article “5 Key PR Trends to Watch in 2017” for additional thoughts on this.

No company will be immune from its Industry’s reputation

That’s why Stakeholder engagement and collaboration is key even between competitors. Industries have their own reputations and an industry can certainly affect a specific company’s reputation, either positively or negatively. The BP Gulf of Mexico was an oil industry disaster not just a BP disaster. However, while industry reputation is a factor, a company’s reputation can still be traced to its practices. Companies with terrible reputations are hated in large part for behaviors many consider reprehensible. Whether its gross environmental violations, perceived corruption, or consistently abysmal customer service, these companies have earned their poor reputations. However companies can transcend their industry’s reputation by positioning themselves differently and paying attention to those things abhorred by stakeholders. What is a common driver is that of quality customer service. Direct contact with a company plays a far bigger and direct impact role than the media yet most companies still favor the PR/Media Relations approach.

The post Trends, Predictions and Dot Connecting appeared first on Deon Binneman.

Under pressure to curb skyrocketing costs, companies are at risk of cutting costs and damaging their reputations. Rapid market changes and a harsh economic climate is putting companies. in a difficult position. Not only do they have to cut costs but they need to do it in manner that will not cause negative stakeholder expectations or damage reputation, integrity and trust.

So, how?

Well I see this time as an ideal opportunity for increased stakeholder engagement. Soliciting inputs from stakeholders about how to things better, faster and more elegantly may not only enhance reputations but can lead to enhanced efficiencies.

Let me use a practical example. During the recession in the 80’s I came home one day and asked our domestic servant how I could cut down. Her exact words were: “Stop buying your cleaning products from Woolies, you can buy it for much cheaper in Honeydew”. The morale of the story. Employees often have ideas and thoughts about these things.

Why not ask them? Why not provide them with incentives to do so? Why don’t you run cost reduction and creative thinking workshops? Why not reactivate that rusty suggestion scheme of yours?

Learning and developing new ways of doing things have become crucial. Activating the brainpower of your stakeholders should make for a good start.

This old blog post of mine on implementing Suggestion Schemes may spark some ideas.

The post As Companies Grapple with Escalating Costs, Reputation is in Danger appeared first on Deon Binneman.

I just read a superb piece of advice by Hootsuite

What Not To Post on Social Media: 5 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before You Publish.

This is an important read. Social Media can really offer big time reputation risk.

As I read it a few quotes came into my thoughts:

– “Once the bird has flown the nest, it cannot be recouped”;

– Robert Scoble – “All it takes is a 140 characters to destroy your Reputation”.

This advice should be included in your Social Media Policy and training materials used for onboarding and educating executives and the workforce about the inherent dangers in social media.

The post Think Before you Press That Button – What Not To Post on Social Media appeared first on Deon Binneman.

Aon Risk Solutions has published its annual list of the key risks as identified by its clients across the globe with damage to brand and reputation topping the list via Cyber risk enters Aon’s top 10 global risks for the first time.

Aon’s global clients strongly felt that damage to brand and reputation ranked as a top concern across almost all regions and industries. This can be attributed to the growing challenges businesses are facing amongst the risks found in the top 10 list, such as cyber risk, but also including business interruption, property damage and failure to innovate.

For the first time cyber risk has entered the top 10 at number 9 , reinforcing its emergence as a key risk factor.

Damage to brand and reputation was cited as the top overall concern facing global organizations, further underscoring the increasing importance of cyber risk as it has been regularly linked to brand and reputation issues in the wake of data breaches.

The 1400 survey respondents to the Aon Global Risk Management Survey included CEOs, CFOs and Risk Managers providing comparative insight into different perceptions of risk.

Stephen Cross, Chief Innovation Officer, Aon Risk Solutions said “The insights provided by this survey help us understand how risks are changing as the global environment evolves. It’s little surprise to see cyber risk enter the top 10 at the same time we are seeing increasing concern about corporate reputation as the two issues are a great example of the interconnectivity of risk.

What is surprising was the lack of alignment between the board and the risk manager. Such diverse views illustrate how imperative it is that the board of directors have effective and regular communication with risk managers to effectively assess and mitigate the company’s risk exposure.”

The full report can be accessed at http://www.aon.com/2015GlobalRisk/default.jsp

The top 10 risks are:

1. Damage to reputation/brand
2. Economic slowdown/slow recovery
3. Regulatory/legislative changes
4. Increasing competition
5. Failure to attract or retain top talent
6. Failure to innovate/meet customer needs
7. Business interruption
8. Third party liability
9. Cyber risk (computer crime/hacking/ viruses/malicious codes)
10. Property damage

All the issues mentioned will be discussed at my next Reputation Risk Management Master Class. (Visit page for scheduled dates).

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Do you know the Golden Rule?

The ethic of reciprocity, more commonly known as the Golden Rule, is an ethical code that states one has a right to just treatment, and a responsibility to ensure justice for others. Reciprocity is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights, though it has its critics. A key element of the golden rule is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people, not just members of his or her in-group, with consideration.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity – The rule is a guiding principle for stakeholder relations management, and justifies the importance of inclusivity.

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I just read a fascinating article about how “Humility is now the new green among CEOs”.

The article points out that CEO visibility has become important again, but for different reasons, such as crises that demand CEO involvement and leadership.

Weber Shandwick’s “CEO Reputation Premium: Gaining Advantage in the Engagement Era” survey released March 6 speculates that the rise of humility among CEOs is “possibly because they’ve all experienced 15 minutes of shame in addition to 15 minutes of fame in this tell-all world.”

WS finds humble CEOs are considered good communicators, open/accessible and comfortable talking to reporters. They are twice as likely to participate in social media than their less humble counterparts.

The firm concludes that humility is “a desirable quality that is associated with a positive reputation and effective communications style. It is also a trait that the global media has tuned into, so consider it a part of the CEO reputation premium.”

Read more –  Blog: Humility is New Green Among CEOs – Fri., Mar. 6, 2015.

The post What it takes to become a Humble CEO – The What and the Why appeared first on Deon Binneman.

Words are empty. Actions speak louder than words. In the field of Reputation Management this is so true. The actions and behaviors of management either add or distract from building reputation.

The post Talk doesn’t cook rice!!!- A Vietnamese Proverb [Quote] appeared first on Deon Binneman.

A New Report from the UK Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) found that Boards need to set and maintain company values.

The author writes that “Culture affects a company’s ability to generate value. A strong culture makes for sustainable value creation. A weak one can destroy the business overnight. This why is boards must be involved and not simply relegate culture to compliance teams.”Directors have to understand how values influence the business model and what drives good behaviour by employees.”

Since values influence trust it is important for boards to understand trust and the role it plays in their company. Values are thus a primary task for boards, and an integral part of their governance role.

This totally in line with what I have always told audiences. Values influence behaviors and should be articulated into specific behaviors that staff could emulate or held accountable for.

Values are not just empty words on walls. They should be described, lived and measured.

Adherence to Values can go a long way to build Trust and ultimately Reputation.

For more information on Trust, read a New Paradigm for Organizational Trust. Also access this handy resource on trust: A Free and living Bibliography of Trust #trust – Essential for #OD & Reputation Managers

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