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CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS by Al Czarnecki

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

A Primer for Teams

by Al Czarnecki

Pub Date: April 10th, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-595-40613-5

Public-relations professional submits an all-business guide to managing crises.

Czarnecki provides succinct, practical and serious advice for organizations that need to prepare for or respond to crises, whether internally generated or the result of an outside threat. Planning is key–who does what and when within your organization and in conjunction with peer organizations. While the author stresses flexibility, he lays down the roles senior managers should play, establishing levels of accountability to avoid conflicting objectives. A valuable tool, this book emphasizes organizational details and adaptability. By presenting potential scenarios, Czarnecki lets readers fashion their own solutions. These, in turn, teach by example, identify problems, develop realistic benchmarks, streamline and simplify the process and breed a sense of teamwork. The guide delves right into the practicalities, from how to establish trust with the media to coping with emergencies, including programming cell phones, stocking appropriate medicines, handling the loss of electrical power and bringing emotional intelligence into the picture–all designed to ensure continuity as well as establish immediate-response mechanisms. Czarnecki also supplies numerous resources–print media, online, recognized incident-management models–and each chapter concludes with questions for discussion. On a philosophical note, he steers readers toward “standards that apply to all your actions. When everything seems to be up in the air, clear values help you quickly decide what’s right,” addressing issues of diligence, good faith, honesty, objectivity, transparency and privacy. He intelligently recommends documenting your organization’s principles as a values statement to serve as a general guide, especially important when improvisation is the game.

A constructive primer on being prepared.