In order to learn from any crisis, it’s important to understand how the events and reactions fit into broad categories. One of our PR colleagues, Jim Lukaszewski, developed a set of criteria that includes Natural Disasters, Cyber/Hacking, Ethical lapses, Operations Failures, Human Error and Terrorism. An overlay on all crises is an organization’s reputation.
In addition to figuring out what type of crisis you have, take time to analyze how a crisis begins and evolves. Each type of crisis has its origin or trigger event, followed by strategies and tactics to respond and to get back to business as usual. The broadest crisis categories are: Flash, Predictable and Chronic.
While the The U.S. Geological Survey knows that earthquakes will happen, the inability to predict when it will actually occur makes a natural disaster – a Flash crisis. Similarly, while airlines plan for the inevitable plane crash, when it occurs it is initially a flash crisis, with the team scrambling based upon location, numbers of people involved and coordination with appropriate authorities.
A product recall is the best example of a Predictable crisis. For consumer goods companies, experience teaches that a recall can occur. The organization has a set of protocols, policies and procedures that kick into place. Given the clientele of Equinox gyms and SoulCycle, The Related Companies should have been better prepared for the predictable fire storm that was bound to erupt when owner Stephen Ross decided to host a fundraiser for President Trump. It appears that Related was caught off guard and could have responded better to the trigger events. Two weeks later, the crisis appears to have waned; the media has moved on to other stories and there is no torrent of membership cancelations.
Boeing’s 737 MAX crash was initially a flash crisis. Boeing, Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines had the immediate need to respond to the crash and implement their crisis response plans. Unfortunately for Boeing, the initial crisis has morphed into the chronic category.
A crises become Chronic when it keeps going on and it is difficult to pivot back to business as usual. . BP’s experience with Deepwater Horizon is a classic example of the chronic crisis. The company couldn’t shift to proactive communications until the cap was put on the flaming well in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s exactly where Boeing is today. Until the 737 MAX is re-certified by the FAA, neither Boeing nor the airlines that expect to fly the MAX can pivot to restoring employee and public confidence in the plane. They can plan and produce messages and content, but they can’t implement until a date that is yet to be determined.
What lessons can be drawn from knowing if you are in a Flash, Predictable or Chronic crisis:
- Plan and prepare. Have a plan, revisit the plan and drill on your plan.
- Create different crisis teams for the type of crisis you have. An IT crisis requires a different team than the kidnapping of an executive.
- Monitor regular and social media for noise. The “Geiger counter” monitoring helps you to work faster when the crisis begins.
- Study your peers for how they respond to a crisis.