Recent burst of serious disruptions highlights need for crisis preparedness and planning Ransomware hackers shut down a critical oil pipeline. A single ship blocks the entire Suez Canal. Animal rights protestors blockade four McDonald’s distribution centers in the UK, impacting …
5 Tips: How to Select a Crisis Management Consultant
Choose the right crisis management consultant with this advice from an expert This is a self-serving blog post that’s going to save you a lot of time, cost and heartache. Fair trade? First, what IS a crisis management consultant, at …
Death By Committee
How Some Well-Intentioned Meetings Increase the Risk of Crises Committees can be very useful for hearing different points of view, working out details of plans, and building consensus. Committees can also be the inadvertent cause of completely preventable crises and/or …
Is There a Loose Cannon on Your Deck?
Is There a Loose Cannon on Your Deck? By Jonathan Bernstein & Anthony Moore Loose cannon referred to an actual weapon before it entered the language as a metaphor. In the days before ships were equipped with fixed-turret guns, muzzle-loading …
The 10 Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communications
The 10 Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communications By Jonathan Bernstein All organizations are vulnerable to crises. Disasters, lawsuits, accusations of impropriety, sudden changes in ownership or management, and other volatile situations will happen. The threat of serious damage to people, …
So You Don’t Think You Need Crisis Training, Huh?
I haven’t learned to do anything really well without training and lots of practice. I suspect this is true for you in your personal and professional lives. We all have areas in which we’re naturally more skilled, of course, but …
The Very Hard Truth About Your Next Major Natural Disaster
A discussion of some tough-to-swallow disaster preparedness truths, by Jonathan Bernstein If you’ve been denial about disaster preparedness, this may be a good time for you to avert your eyes, because you’re not going to like what I have to say. …
How Your Daily Decisions Could Spawn a Crisis
Everyday choices can create serious issues I can’t count the number of crises I’ve seen during my career that started with an operational decision that seemed like a good idea at the time — but which was fatally flawed from …
Crisis Management Quotables…on Expectations and Reputation
Why failing to meet expectations is a fast track to reputation ruin Our Crisis Management Quotable series frequently takes quotes from famous philosophers, political figures, or writers. While those are fantastic, sometimes we like to give it to you straight …
Crisis Management: Reducing Severity and Impact of Recalls
Catching product issues before they create big problems is key to reducing the reputation impact of recalls There has been a serious increase in recalls over the past several years. In large part this is due to greater awareness – consumers …
Jonathan Bernstein Talks Chipotle with APM’s Marketplace
Discussing the popular chain’s food norovirus contamination crisis Chipotle seemed to be on the verge of navigating its way out of reputation woes brought on by an outbreak of illness in recent patrons spanning seven states. That is, until 80 …
More Giveaways from Bernstein Crisis Management
Sharing valuable lessons with the community As announced recently, we decided to start giving away the formerly $10 PDF version of Jonathan Bernstein’s media training manual, Keeping the Wolves at Bay. Now, from Bernstein Crisis Management’s Home Page, you can choose …
We’re Giving Away “Keeping the Wolves at Bay”
KEEPING THE WOLVES AT BAY MEDIA TRAINING MANUAL NOW FREE TO ALL September 16, 2015 – Monrovia, CA — Keeping the Wolves at Bay, the widely used media-training manual published by Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., is …
Allegiant’s Emergency Landing Puts Reputation at Risk
Poor communications and a questionable explanation leaves the airline’s most valuable asset in danger Allegiant Airlines’ emergency landing at a then-closed Fargo, ND airport raised serious questions about safety. And, when your organization revolves around carrying passengers some 30,000+ in …
Crisis Management Best Practices to Combat Cyberbullying
Jonathan Bernstein shares his take on the intersection of crisis management and cyberbullying Whether it’s nuisance behavior like derailing social media conversations or more serious attacks such as releasing personal information and sabotaging review sites, cyberbullying can, and does, create …