BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

News that the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed Beef Products, Inc. to treat raw hamburger with ammonia to destroy bacteria, while also exempting the Chicago-based meat packer from routine ground-beef inspections, will create even more suspicions about the government’s ability to safeguard the nation’s food supply. It’s also a case study in how companies and government agencies must do more to reassure consumers in this age of accountability. BPI’s ammonia-processed beef has become a huge part ... READ MORE

By every account, the last two weeks have not been kind to Tiger Woods – not the person, nor the billion dollar brand. For days on end, new revelations emerged with every passing hour. Racy “sext messages” from alleged lovers were posted online, confusing and ambiguous statements from the golfer himself were posted to his website, and all the while the media frenzy picked up steam. As an avid golfer and someone who counts himself a fan ... READ MORE

When Tiger Woods hits a 300-yard drive on the golf course, it’s hardly big news. But when he takes a 300-yard drive at 2:30 a.m. that ends in a crash at the foot of his neighbor’s driveway, it’s another story altogether. If you’re an avid sports fan like me, chances are you spent some time this weekend glued to ESPNews for the latest information on what was reported to be a “serious” single-car accident involving a ... READ MORE

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office. When reputational problems strike your brand in today’s digital realm, moving quickly to own the online messaging landscape can make the difference between a short lived bump in the branding road and a crippling long-term crisis.   How can organizations guard their reputations and protect their bottom lines when online critics launch viral assaults? The key is to be first in the online race to ... READ MORE

California, which often serves as a regulatory and legislative bellwether for the rest of the country, is seeking to blaze a new trail in environmental enforcement. “Ground truthing,” as it has come to be known, consists of recruiting community volunteers to recognize and report potential environmental hazards. State regulators have scheduled a discussion next month about formally enacting the idea as a way to create more green jobs and to inexpensively enforce the state’s environmental laws. Environmental ... READ MORE

Too Big To Fail, Andrew Ross Sorkin’s critically-acclaimed examination of how Wall Street and Washington responded to the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, is as detailed and insightful a study of the subject as has yet been written. From the frenetic pace with which the drama unfolds to the inside accounts of one excruciating decision after another, the book captures the essence of crisis in the Age of Accountability and offers indelible lessons ... READ MORE

Nokia, the world’s top producer of mobile phones, has so far responded masterfully since discovering that its AC-3U, AC-3E, and AC-4U chargers could potentially pose a risk of electric shock. Though no injuries have been reported to date, the company voluntarily initiated one of the largest technology recalls in recent memory and announced that it will replace the more than 14 million defective chargers at no expense to consumers. In so doing, Nokia has taken ... READ MORE

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the CEO Forum in Colorado Springs. At this gathering of top CEOs form across the country, I focused my remarks on one question: Why do crisis situations make the reputations of some countries and companies and break the reputations of others? From Beijing to Wall Street, we have found that there are three reasons why some companies fail in a crisis: The first is fear, which overwhelms ... READ MORE

More often than not, the most successful responses to business crises are about more than just the company at the center of controversy. Think of Johnson & Johnson’s response to the Tylenol tampering of the early 1980s or El Al’s handling of hijackings in the 1970s. Those companies leveraged their own problems into solutions that ultimately changed entire industries for the better. That’s the foremost goal of any crisis communications engagement – and it’s precisely ... READ MORE

In the months since he safely landed U.S. Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a collision with birds took out both engines, the word “miracle” has been used time and again to describe Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s heroic crisis response. But with the more we learn about the man who saved 155 lives on that faithful day, the more we see that this was no miracle at all. Sully was the right man, ... READ MORE