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.

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Registrations Are Now Open For My Crisis Management Train-the – Trainer Course Registrations are now open for my Crisis Management Train-the – Trainer course that I will be conducting 21 – 22 February in Johannesburg. This high-level training will be conducted as a once-off opportunity to add crisis management and training capacity to your consulting or training practice offerings. If you are a Business Continuity specialist, Trainer in OHASA and Security Management or a skilled PR practitioner you will not want to miss this training. This is what it entails: 2 Days intensive Training in Crisis Management and Crisis Communication and required Train the Trainer techniques. Be able to handle the Perceptual and Reality Aspects Of A Crisis Be able to advise Management on how to act, respond and communicate in any type of crisis. Be able to Design, Develop and Write a Crisis Management plan for a client POA. It includes a copy of my Crisis Capability Toolkit(https://www.deonbinneman.com/toolkits-and-products/crisis-capability-toolkit/) and all training materials to enable a delegate to prepare and train client crisis teams. – Course outline: https://www.deonbinneman.com/crisis-managemen/ – PLEASE NOTE : There is places for 20 delegates only. First Come, First Served. CONTACT deonbin (AT) icon.co.za to reserve your space.

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More and more issues are emerging that are affecting reputation. These include sexual misconduct in the workplace, state capture, diversity, inclusion, corruption, fake news, power politics, cyber risk and school safety.

The phrase ‘STATE CAPTURE’ was awarded ‘word of the year’ by eNCA who claims the phrase was used more than 20,231 times in over 11,000 South African newspapers. The saga certainly points to lobbying being taken to a new level, and the misuse of power and influence. The #GuptaLeaks scandal has resulted in widespread turmoil, annihilating and, embarrassing organisations and individuals and who knows what will emerge from the continuing investigations.

Rogue Professional Services firm Bell Pottinger certainly dented the PR Industry’s Reputation, and its demise has certainly hastened the adoption of the Helsinki Declaration.

The Helsinki Declaration is a set of principles aimed at uniting the global PR industry under a single banner of ethical behaviour. It calls on members to stand by the 10 principles including to observe the highest professional standards in the practice of public relations and communications. I hope PR companies have shared this with their staff members and will include adherence to it in performance reviews.

The fallout from the Weinstein sexual misconduct revelations has resulted in the #MeToo campaign which hit worldwide mainstream headlines with more and more people coming to the fore with facts and allegations.

Even Weber Shandwick has recruited Tai Wingfield, corporate communications chief of the Center for Talent Innovation, to run its newly formed diversity, equity and inclusion practice.

The firm says that strategies it will employ include: raising awareness and understanding around the business case for diversity; navigating culture change and transformation; communicating around complex social issues and demonstrating an organization’s commitment to advancing DEI. “We are integrating our world-class expertise in employee engagement, corporate reputation, social impact, high-impact marketing programs and the DEI landscape to help clients deliver on this important opportunity,” said WS CEO Andy Polansky.

Unfortunately getting involved in highly charged political and social issues, come with risk as this leading article “CEOs Choose Sides on Gun Control at Their Own Risk – CEOs feel pressure from younger, digitally savvy consumers and from employees to take a stand on issues, but corporate reputation can suffer” point out.

What is your take on Gun violence? And your company’s view on it? What are you saying to your clients?

Safety and Security is part of Crisis Planning, Issues Management and Compliance and can most certainly impact Reputation.

Reputation Risk research shows that reputation damage is often caused by poor leadership, lack of compliance and culture issues. Various disciplines are involved in managing these domains and a way should be found to overcome silo management and centralize reputation management. One way is to form a Reputation Risk Committee whose sole aim should be to protect trust, integrity and brand reputation. Mail me for a suggested structured agenda for such a committee to follow.

Since many reputation risks emerge in the “personality” part of an organisation – the culture of the organisation it is therefore imperative for OD and PR experts to work closely together if you want to create a robust reputation risk assurance framework for an organisation. For instance compliance to Sarbanes-Oxley and various corporate governance codes are essential but if the culture of the organisation is one of being unethical, not stakeholder focused and inward focused, then gaps will occur.

Decision-making remains a problem in South Africa. There seems to be a real lack and grasp of looking systemically at issues. The Life Esedemi court case has really exposed a lack of caring, attention and monitoring by Government officials.

The cold and ruthless behavior and lack of compassion and accepting accountability by the Former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu is an example of the necessity of OD practitioners to do more work on corporate culture, coaching of leaders and internal communication.

I cannot believe that I wrote this in August 2012 but the message “Executives Need to Learn a New Style of Decision-making” certainly resonates with what is happening in the country, me thinks – What do you think?

A good read in this regard is the article What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case? From Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.

Reputation drives sustainability not just profitability. Brands no longer have the option to be silent on divisive social issues, according to the fourth iteration of FleishmanHillard’s Authenticity Gap report, but it comes with risk and opportunity.

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This article in MarketWatch “Kathy Griffin totally offended everyone, but here’s one thing she did right – The comedienne drew widespread condemnation for her ‘decapitated’ Trump photo” offers some real lessons about behavior, actions and apologies.

Comedienne Kathy Griffin apologised about a stunt in which she posed with a fake bloody mask designed to look like the head of President Donald Trump.

In her words: “I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong,” with a video, in which she says, “I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny. I get it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career. I will continue. I ask your forgiveness.

Various experts have commented on her apology doubting the sincerity of it BUT what really stands out for me is that her track record – her past history making a living at going over the line, and how it “bites” her now.

The problem with apologies is that while your words may be heard, the deed has been done, and consequences will flow.

There is always consequences. If you caused the demise of someone, do you think the authorities and the bereaved will accept a verbal apology? The law will take its course and forgiveness?

I concur with Jonathan Bernstein, president of the public-relations consultancy Bernstein Crisis Management. “Given Kathy Griffin’s history as a comedienne, I doubt many considered her apology to be sincere,” he says.

There has already been consequences. Since Griffin posted the photo, SquattyPotty bathroom products suspended its campaign with Griffin and CNN said Wednesday it was cutting ties with Griffin. “CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year’s Eve program,” it said.

For Bernstein, no apology will ever be enough. “There are some wrongs you just can’t right.”

So, what are the takeaways?:

1. Think carefully before you act or speak. Words and Actions have consequences.
2. Always consider your Stakeholders. It is my opinion that if we consider out stakeholders and how they might react, we may see different ations and outcomes.
3. If you are going to apologise, do so quickly, BUT do it with sincerity.

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Mauritius Here I Come I will facilitate a Strategic Public Relations in the 21st Century workshop in Mauritius 20- 21 February. This will be the 16th country that I am doing consulting work in.

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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.

I was quoted in the Risk Africa magazine – Web edition regarding the Ford Kuga recall I was quoted in the Risk Africa magazine – web edition regarding the Ford Kuga recall. http://www.riskafrica.com/ford-kuga-recalled/

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KPMG has identified seven key strategic risks that companies and chief risk officers (CROs) face this year.

KPMG partner Kelly Watson recently responded to questions from Bloomberg BNA’s Yin Wilczek in an article “Companies Face Evolving and Escalating Risk Areas in 2016, KPMG’s Kelly Watson Says”

This is what Kelly had to say about Crisis Management:”Regarding the elevation of crisis management on the CRO’s agenda, while organizations have always faced the possibility of critical or catastrophic events in some form, as companies are now more connected and global, they face even greater threats of disruption to business operations from man-made or natural disasters ranging from cyber-attacks to supply chain disruptions stemming from geopolitical turmoil. And, because organizations are more interconnected, complexities can occur now in a more widespread and rapid fashion in the aftermath of a crisis”

This is something that I have repeatedly said in my presentations:”The velocity or speed at which messages now flow in real-time has added another dimension to Crisis Management that demands robust thinking and actions”.

This implies that:

– Organizations should think wider about the potential risks they face right now and the risk on the future horizon;

– Organizations should have robust compliance programs, but that compliance should go beyond today’s minimum standards, and also focus on best practices, especially in the field of Crisis Management;

– Organizations should plan with “split – seconds” response in mind, which is only possible through adequate  planning, preparation and training BEFORE a crisis hits.

Earlier in the article, Kelly said: “However, some more complex and evolving risk areas including data security, technology risk management and crisis management have been recently escalated”.

There are always new risks emerging, but the key lies in identifying the interaction and impact of these risks with each other. You cannot see one risk in isolation and should always adopt a systems thinking perspective, which is exactly what I will try and show at my next training in Johannesburg.

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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.

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Deon Binneman to speak at the AIG Casualty Recall Seminar in Cape Town I will be the keynote speaker at the AIG Casualty Recall seminar to be held at Century City, Cape Town on the 29th August. The title of my presentation: “How to Plan for and Manage a Product Recall Crisis”. This is a follow-on of the successful seminars held in Johannesburg and Pretoria late last year. Recalls are costly, time consuming and can damage reputation severely. Read this for more information.

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