BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

In an era of sweeping regulatory reform, major evolutions in media, and unprecedented public anger toward Corporate America, boards of directors are asking two questions when it comes to reputational risk management in the Digital Age. First, what is our role in crisis? And second, how do we best prepare?

These topics and many others were addressed during the 2009 NACD Directorship Global Forum, which brought together more than 100 of the most influential minds in corporate governance earlier this week. I had the opportunity to join these board leaders from throughout the country as they gathered to discuss the new challenges facing boards at a time when communicating accountability is a top priority.

In the wake of the global financial collapse and the absence of leadership that is permeating Wall Street, board' s today have begun to realize that their role in a crisis is as straightforward as it is challenging: to mandate courage.

In a crisis, every CEO is faced with conflicting interests from legal, HR, GR, IR, etc… all of which are offering sound, silo-specific reasons not to act - citing the legal, market, regulatory, and policy risks involved. At just the time bold decisive leadership is called for, analysis paralysis sets in and far too often opportunities for leadership are missed.

The reality of the institutional inertia that this creates means it' s up to the board to empower the CEO to focus not on what could be lost due to corrective action; but what could be gained. Courage isn' t the absence of fear; it' s overcoming fear - which is essential to effective leadership at "bet-the-company" moments.

In preparing for crisis, boards need to also understand that the dominance of digital and social media have changed the dynamic of a crisis. Where companies once had days and weeks to deploy their crisis response plans, the immediacy of the Internet, and its newfound role of assignment editor for traditional journalists, have decreased the response window to one measured in hours, not days.

How best can your company prepare for the inevitable online reputational assault? First, ask the tough questions of your corporate communications team. Have they identified the high-authority bloggers that cover your industry? Are they vigilantly monitoring their reports, and treating them with the same respect they would show the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. Have they identified potential supporters in the online social media space to deploy as third party brand ambassadors when criticism comes your way?
These initial measures not only provide a company with vital intelligence as to where its next crisis might hit; but with critical opportunities to shape the online commentary before it reaches the mainstream press.

A key realization for many board members attending this week' s Directorship conference is that while their corporate marketing team has a firm grasp of the online space and how to leverage it to sell products, the internal corporate communications team is a full Internet generation behind, lacking the most essential understanding of how to use digital and social media to bulletproof brands and protect reputations.

For boards today, it is about having the foresight to ask the tough questions to plan before a crisis occurs, and about having the courage to mandate leadership when they find themselves in the eye of the storm.

Richard Levick is President and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog.