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Checkmate Update
October 1, 2002
The online newsletter
dedicated to "Defending Good Science."
Either Plan for Failure,
or Plan to Fail…
This is a series
of articles dedicated to exploring the basic principles of
effective crisis communications. We are all crisis managers
at some point in our lives – whether we succeed depends
on how well we are prepared.
As North American’s
stopped to observe the one-year anniversary of the largest
crisis story in a generation, the questions surrounding 9/11
did not. Even as I write this article, there’s a story
that “a Phoenix FBI agent's warning in July 2001 that
Osama bin Laden might be sending terrorists to train at U.S.
flight schools was deemed "speculative and not particularly
significant by his supervisors."
The joint U.S. Congressional investigative
report did not suggest that anything would have prevented
the Sept 11 attacks, but rather that the country could have
been better prepared if those cases had been tied together
and with other clues.
Initial crisis-related news can be received
at any level of a company. A janitor may be the first to know
there is a problem. Someone in personnel may have concerns
about a former employee. Perhaps notification is in the form
of a midnight phone call from an out-of-town executive. Who
should be notified, and where do you reach them?
At the very least, an emergency communications
"tree" should be established and distributed to
all company employees, telling them precisely what to do and
who to call if there appears to be a potential for or an actual
crisis. In addition to appropriate supervisors, at least one
member of the crisis communications team, plus an alternate
member, should include their office and home phone numbers
on the emergency contact list.
A proactive firm prepares for crises, and
gathers their team for brainstorming sessions on all the potential
crises which can occur at the organization. There are two
immediate benefits to this exercise:
a) They may realize that some of the situations
are preventable by simply modifying existing methods of
operation; and
b) They can begin to think about possible responses, about
best case/worst case scenarios, etc.
Better now than when under the pressure
of an actual crisis.
Checkmate Link of the Month
Just who funds them anyway? http://www.activistcash.com.
Find out who’s behind a particular activist group –
who sits on their board, where they get their money from,
and some of the motives behind their actions. The site doesn’t
go into too much detail, but it’s an interesting primer
in the ‘business of activism.’
From our Readers
We always like to hear comments or suggestions
from our readers. Charles Ross is a communications professional
in every sense of the word, who works at the Ministry of Environment
for the Government of Ontario.
Charlie suggested companies may want to
consider having easy-to-read material data sheets, explaining
what chemicals or compounds are used in the facility, what
they’re used for, and what their effects are. They can
be printed and distributed during public tours of your facility,
but also made available to the media the next time there’s
an issue or crisis. As Charlie says, “when you're into
technical stuff, the more questions you have to answer, the
more mistakes you can make.” I think it’s a great
idea.
Do you have great ideas? Let us know.
Suggestions, comments or advice are always welcome.
Free Consultation
Bad
things can happen to good companies.
When it happens, the smart companies call Checkmate Public
Affairs.
Checkmate Public Affairs specializes in
‘Defending Good Science.’ We stop activists. We
manage issues. And we deliver results.
Checkmate is an issues management firm dedicated
to assisting corporations with science-based risk & crisis
communications and issues management. We are a small firm
with a niche practice – which means we aren’t loaded
with the overhead and complicated structures of many big agencies.
Do you have any questions? Are you feeling
uncomfortable about a situation? Are you on the wrong end
of an attack? Why not call us? Checkmate is happy to offer
a free, 100% confidential, initial consultation. Let us take
you through some basic issues management. If you don’t
think we can provide value added service, there’s no
risk to you. If your challenge is in an area of our expertise,
we’re convinced we can provide an effective solution
at a competitive price.
The Checkmate Update is a service
provided by Checkmate
Public Affairs. Please feel free
to share this newsletter with anyone who would find it useful,
but have them sign up too! Our sign-up page is located at
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Jeff Chatterton, President
Checkmate Public Affairs
Phone (519) 342-0025
Tollfree (877) 284-7952
Fax (519) 342-1221
http://www.checkmatepublicaffairs.com
"Defending Good
Science "
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