What is the plan in handling a crisis, and how to adapt to an ever changing world

Hello class, (and fellow communicators) and welcome to my week 7 blog. There are just two weeks left in the term and to everyone who will be graduating next Friday from Troy University I say congratulations to you all. This week I will be discussing leadership, media strategies, crisis and change. I will mostly be discussing crisis communications and how leaders should handle a crisis and how to change to a rapidly changing technological world. So, what is crisis management/crisis communication?

Crisis Communication 

Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. This is the most important process in public relations. The elements most common to a crisis are a threat to the organization, the element of surprise, and a short decision time. Organizations have to have a plan to deal with threats before, during, and after they have occurred. One of our videos to watch this week was from CIPR TV and they talked with Neil Chapman, founder of Alpha Voice Communications and formerly employed at BP, where his role was in the unified command center in the US and was responsible for responding to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He discuses how this was a human tragedy because eleven people died and that it may not have been talked about as much had it not been also a huge environmental disaster. He went on to say that this disaster wasn't one that happened and the could PR it and deal with the results. The fact that it seemed like it would never end and there was an unending demand for information on how to fix this disaster. So, what could BP have done differently? Well for starters not acknowledging the problem initially. They consistently underestimated the magnitude of the spill by claiming to be out of the loop about decisions and processes on the rig. The company also failed to empathize with the plight of those most affected by the spill. This affected families because people died and it affected the livelihoods of people in the fishing industry.
The CEO should know how to deal capably with the public relations dimensions of a crisis. Simply stating that you don't deal with decisions on the rig and being out of the loop was not a good thing to say. It shows the disconnect that the corporate heads have with the work that actually goes on in the company they are supposed to be representing. A CEO should be knowledgeable about the basics of the company. It's impossible to learn every single detail about a company but at least they should have an idea of what's going on in the front lines.

Taking ownership and leading in a crisis

One of our articles of reading this week talks about leaders and how to lead in a crisis. This brings me to Nintendo of all companies. (I name them alot because I am huge video game fan since childhood) The president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, has taken a pay cut every couple of years when the company has suffered from a downturn in profit. The company has since returned to profitability with its combined Wii U and 3DS sales. We need more leaders that are willing to take ownership when something goes wrong with their company or if there is an issue. Leaders should know how to ask for help in solving problems and not try to do it all themselves. Just like Iwata taking ownership for the failures of his company other CEOs and presidents should be willing to sacrifice to before asking others. I've seen companies fail to the point of being shut down but the executives were still getting big bonuses while the employees down the leader were suffering.

Creating Communication strategies with social media

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube have become a way for companies to communicate with the general public in a much faster way then doing press conferences etc. It has become imperative that companies have a team of people specifically for the purpose of monitoring online what people are saying about them and dealing with and addressing the issue immediately to avoid further controversies. The people that you hire for this position should be highly trained in the strengths of each site doing additional research if need be to determine relevancy. Find your ideal community by knowing who they are and where they like to interact. You should also know which social media tools your ideal community favors. Social media is a powerful tool for increasing your visibility and connecting with others that are not in your local area. Being consistent and real will expand your influence and connect you more quickly to those who need what you have to offer.

Keeping up with the times

Effective communication is key to having a successful company and effective leadership is key to your company remaining successful. Knowing your team, sharing your victories and defeats and being a good listener are just a few key items to being a good leader. Eddie Obeng in the TED video this week spoke about the world changing and that creative output can't keep up. He spoke on  companies having ideas about companies having ideas and delivering on them two years after its inception and becoming obsolete before these ideas are published into any book. "Global is the new scale" says Obeng in the TED video. You have to think of the future. "You can't solve last year's problems without thinking about the future" says Obeng. I agree with that. You have to be prepared and be certain that the problems that you solve now don't come back later in the future.

In closing I say this to you, our world has changed so much even in just the last couple of years. (You know I just read an article about NASA accidentally creating a wrap drive read it here http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/nasa-warp-drive-spaceship-mars/2015/05/01/id/641944/) Being a effective leader, having a crisis management plan when things go back and keeping up with the ever changing times are key to being successful and remaining successful.