QUICK TIPS FOR “KEEPING COOL”
A monthly e-zine on crisis management
brought to you by Judy Hoffman

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
Light travels faster than the speed of sound; that’s why some people appear to be bright until they open their mouths.
— Anonymous

DON’T DEPEND ON “HIRED GUNS”

You know what a “hired gun” is, right? In the Old West, people used to contract (with money, or maybe with a side of beef or a hog) with a real good gunslinger to take their place in some sort of conflict. They had to hire someone because they were either too afraid or not good enough to do it themselves.

Some organization executives are tempted to do the same thing when it comes to speaking to the media during a crisis, or standing up in front of an assembled group of unhappy/angry or frightened people. Of course they would be afraid! Few people relish the idea of being in those situations. And if they have never been trained, or haven’t had their skills refreshed within the past couple of years, they are not going to have the confidence that they can handle the sometimes tricky and usually dangerous field of crisis communications.

CEO’s, Plant Managers, Executive Directors, etc. rationalize that they are too busy handling whatever the crisis is to be the ones talking to the media or dealing with concerned customers or citizens. They decide that the thing to do is to bring in a PR expert or media consultant to handle these tasks for them.

Why Hired Guns Don’t Work Well

In my experience, there are at least two major reasons why this is a bad idea:

1. People who are upset, concerned, or angry really want to see the leader of the organization — whether they are seeing you in person or on a TV screen or computer monitor. They do not want to be pushed off on a stranger who will probably just tell them what they want to hear to get past the immediate problem and then get out of town. The public wants to see the local person with the authority to make the decisions, the one who will take action and take responsibility for the outcome of the situation. They want to look that person in the eye and make judgments as to whether or not he/she is believable, trustworthy, compassionate, and caring.
2. ( It will take the management of the company much too long to educate the “hired gun” about the situation. You cannot bring in a PR generalist who knows little or nothing about your industry or type of business and make that person an instant expert. Your spokesperson should be capable of answering all sorts of questions about your business and/or industry. While those answers are second nature to those of you who operate in that arena all the time, it would require a massive “brain dump” to educate a novice. (How well this person would assimilate the information in a short period of time is a question too.) Your time would be much better spent preparing for the interview — putting together (a) a list of the most likely questions and your best answers to them and (b) developing and committing to memory your “must air” messages.

Be Wary of Lawyers as Spokespersons

Legal advice is valuable in a crisis. It is important to have a legal perspective provided as your crisis management team is developing your response. Lawyers can help you avoid some major minefields that could get you in big trouble –provided that they do not advise you simply to say, “No comment” when asked for your position. When an organization puts their lawyer up in front of the TV cameras or sends him/her to deal with the assembled masses of angry people, however, the immediate impression of most people is negative. The organization is seen to be “lawyering up,” meaning that they are more interested in protecting themselves from a lawsuit than they are in solving the problem. It makes the organization appear more guilty than they would if the CEO stepped up to talk about the situation and tell what they are doing about it.

Preparation is the Key

If your senior management people shouldn’t sidestep their responsibility to be spokespeople in a crisis, then they have to do something to improve their confidence to deal with the reporters who will be covering the story and citizens who will be attending the meetings. Instead of wasting time trying to educate a “hired gun” novice on your industry and business, you should:

1. re-read your handouts and notes from your last media training workshop;
2. grab that book on dealing with the media off your shelf (of course I can recommend a good one — see below*) and review the major concepts; and
3. sit with your Crisis Management Team to help prepare the most likely questions and your “must air” messages. Do some role-playing of the type of interviews or meetings you can expect to face.

Sending your own well-prepared managers out to meet the media or the angry people is MUCH preferable to calling in a “hired gun.” The public will have a lot more respect for you after it is all over because you had the courage to face a difficult situation rather than hiding behind a total stranger who has no relationship with your local community.

*Special Note: If you don’t yet have your copy of my book, “Keeping Cool on the Hot Seat: Dealing Effectively with the Media in Times of Crisis,” you have an opportunity now to get one on a 50% off sale! (Why shouldn’t my e-zine readers be able to purchase it for half of what they would pay on Amazon.com?) If you want to take advantage of this, simply e-mail me with “E-zine Book Order” in the subject line, and provide your fax number so I can send you a special order form showing the reduced price.

‘Til next month…KEEP COOL!

Copyright (C) 2007 JCH Enterprises