An Exercise in Utility

Last week I asked a series of questions to determine if exercises actually help us prepare for actual responses. This post, we’ll look at the some of the same questions and discuss possible actions to maximize our exercise utility. Warning!  This post is almost twice as long at the previous one, but answers are always […]

An Exercise in Futility

Practice makes perfect, right? So we exercise, or drill, or run tabletops. By practicing, we build ‘muscle memory’ that ensures our capability of responding under stress. This ensures that we will take the right actions at the right time, and by doing so we will always be ready to leap into action to defend our […]

The Risk in Risk Assessment

A powerful tool Effective risk assessment is critical for effective crisis communication planning. You need to know what could happen in order to identify affected stakeholders, map their concerns, prepare messaging and plan an ongoing response communication plan. The good news is that one should be available to you; risk assessments are what planners do! […]

Just the Facts, Ma’am?

It’s 2:00 AM, and the event you’ve feared has occurred. Something went bump in the night. The monster under the bed moved. Chains rattled in the hallway. You got ‘the call’. Something terrible has happened, and now you have to brush the cobwebs off your crisis communication plan and begin to communicate with your stakeholders.  In […]

The Peril in Preparation

Time to prepare is precious. While time to prepare is precious and should be used wisely, there are actually some dangers to be conscious of in preparation. The time that is our friend – the very time to think, strategize and perfect your communication products – can work against us. The problem with preparing crisis […]