Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

BCM founder and chairman Jonathan Bernstein spoke with the Wall Street Journal for this discussion of the ongoing issues surrounding activism in the workplace. "Company Bosses Draw a Red Line on Office Activists" - WSJ https://on.wsj.com/44jIHQk

Let's play pretend for a moment... If you found out, right now, that your company was being served in a massive lawsuit and a reporter from the NY Times was already working on a story, would you know the first steps to take? How about what to do in the hours after? Tomorrow morning? The next week? Do you have a cadence for regular updates? Do you have a team already identified and organized to handle critical tasks including addressing all aspects of legal, operational, and communications response? Are you actually ready for a crisis, or are you hiding your head in the sand and hoping one doesn't come your way? Let's talk about why 2024 should be the year of crisis preparedness for your brand: https://bit.ly/3vjbze2

It's human nature for the brain to engage in a fight or flight reaction when you feel a pair of not-so-friendly eyes on you, yet the worst possible thing you could do in a serious media interview is show the world that you'd rather be running for cover than answering the questions being hurled your way. How do you overcome this instinctual reaction and ensure your most important messages are being communicated clearly, effectively, and with a sense of confidence? For media interview success, preparation is key. https://bit.ly/4agWF7R

While not every negative review is the end of the world (these days people actually expect to see a couple!) letting damaging reviews from customers on sites like Google and Yelp, or from your own employees on Glassdoor, get out of control can make a serious impact on more areas of business than you might expect. While there is no 'one size fits all' approach when it comes to managing reviews, let's look at some standard first steps to consider when a bad one rolls in. https://bit.ly/4avBeiR

Traditional PR and crisis management are more akin to two sides of the same coin than completely disparate disciplines. It's all about taking the best of proven old-school principles, mixing in modern technology and advanced approaches, then reaping the benefits of both worlds to support reputation, resilience, and response. https://bit.ly/48VED9r

The level of communications "noise" audiences encounter today is more akin to a raging rapids than a trickling stream. TV. Radio. Podcasts. Social Media. Print Media. Web Browsing. YouTube. Billboards. Emails. Text Messages. Personal Conversations. Snail Mail. Voicemail...the list goes on and on. In order to not only survive, but also thrive, in order to beat the noise, reach your intended audience, AND have the desired effect, your efforts need to be backed with strategy and driven by intent. https://bit.ly/3IyCRAl

Whether you're facing more mundane crises like legal troubles and supply chain interruptions or dealing with the truly bizarre like exploding fireplaces and decomposing bodies in the air vents (two very real examples from our own practice), it's easy to make mistakes. If you want to learn what NOT to do when your communications are under the microscope and every mistake feels like it's the end of the world, take a read through 'The 10 Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communications' https://bit.ly/430Xaju.

While today’s heavy use of monitoring and media tracking software, in additional to a generally vocal public, means you’ll see warning signs of many issues that could arise to the level of crisis well in advance, you have to accept trouble can and will crash into your reality with a sudden ferocity, completely lacking the good manners to let you know it was coming beforehand. https://bit.ly/41s6AE0

If you told most people that they were going to be performing a play tonight, with no practice or rehearsal allowed, they would run for the hills, yet a surprising number of those same individuals are confident they could successfully navigate a full-blown crisis that puts their entire organization on center stage without any prior prep. Spoiler alert: It's not going to go so well. https://bit.ly/49mglGG

One of the best ways to learn is to listen to others who have "been there, done that". Jonathan Bernstein founded a crisis management firm in a time when common thinking was that you couldn't manage a crisis at all, and spent 30 years in the trenches dealing with every situation imaginable. If you're seeking to better understand this field a great place to start would be his article, "30 Lessons from 30 Years of Crisis Management" https://bit.ly/42z2wSB