BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

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

More often than not, effective crisis management hinges on what a company has done to prepare for the worst. Whether it’s a bankruptcy filing, a high-profile recall, or a sudden C-Suite resignation, the speed with which issues impact stakeholder perceptions in the Digital Age presents a simple choice for companies in crisis: Either be ready to respond in near real time, or cede control of your story to others. As I said in an interview with PRNews ... READ MORE

David Letterman did a bad thing. On his Thursday night program, he admitted to having sex with female staff members who worked with him on his show and that a man had tried to extort $2 million from him to keep that fact a secret. Letterman told his live studio audience that he had admitted to the relationships during testimony earlier that very day before a New York grand jury. He also said that the extortionist ... READ MORE

In times of adversity, there is nothing more important than surrounding yourself with the right people. Effective crisis management always starts with an abundance mentality - a desire to first understand as many different perspectives as time will allow before seeking to be understood by the myriad stakeholders that are awaiting your next move. That's how strong leaders find the win-win in any situation, how they turn adversaries into partners, and how they identify opportunity ... READ MORE

When emergency situations arise in highly-populated areas such as college campuses or large office buildings, those responsible for getting vital information to those that need it are put to the test. Anyone in harm's way must know what to do to remain safe and secure. Students, employees, their families, the surrounding community, and the media all need to be kept informed of developments as they occur and misinformation must be corrected in near real-time. To ... READ MORE

It's been 57 years since Richard Nixon saved his political career with the Checkers speech, artfully amalgamating regret, apology, and defiance. At day's end he had proven two seemingly contradictory messages - that he was politically astute and that he was as human as any one of the millions of voters watching. In recent years, political life has gotten both more transparent and more complicated as career-decisive apologies proliferate. We've discovered that apologies in and of ... READ MORE

Last week, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that crystallizes the preeminent challenge of crisis communications in the Information Age. The piece is entitled "The Ten Year Century" - and in it, Tom Hayes and Michael Malone chronicle modern society's dizzying pace of change and what it means to each and every one of us. Hayes and Malone point to a decade that has seen massive technological growth (and an even larger expansion ... READ MORE

Just a few years ago, the notion that companies could avert customer relations crises with a mere 140-character message might have seemed laughable. Today, however, companies are not only nipping crises in the bud with a few simple keystrokes; they are converting critics into brand ambassadors. As was reported in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Ford Motor Company, Pepsi, Southwest Airlines, and Coca-Cola are just a few of the corporate institutions now turning to ... READ MORE

Conversations about products and brands used to be held around the dinner table, over the backyard fence, or in the aisles of the local supermarket. Now, they're taking place on the blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and countless other social media platforms - and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking notice. With an increasing number of consumers turning to the Web for what they believe to be disinterested and unbiased product reviews, concerns about the potential for ... READ MORE

In today's e-commerce environment, data loss and theft represents many organizations' worst nightmare. Each time consumers use a credit card or submit other forms of personal information to a company - either online or off - they have a reasonable expectation that the information will be kept safe. It's about trust. When that trust is compromised, companies are instantly thrust into a reputational crisis of epic proportions. I recently spoke with Chris Hayes - who authors ... READ MORE