{"id":9027,"date":"2014-09-16T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=9027"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:00:04","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:00:04","slug":"top-10-crisis-preparation-tips-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/top-10-crisis-preparation-tips-entrepreneurs","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 crisis preparation tips for entrepreneurs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A business is never too small to face a scandal, litigation, disgruntled employee, or social media fiasco. (We\u2019ve seen five high-profile PR crises in the first half of 2014 alone, as McCown recently discussed on <i><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1tk44rY\">PR Newser<\/a><\/i>.)<\/p>\n<p>As a Boston-based public relations firm, we decided to open a New York City office at WeWork Bryant Park with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pub\/allyson-quinby\/14\/5a6\/297\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ally Quinby<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/solomonmccown.com\/leadership\/jonathan-pappas-vice-president\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Pappas<\/a> to be close to national media outlets and to develop new business opportunities with everyone from startups to global companies.<\/p>\n<p>If we\u2019re not pitching real estate, corporate, healthcare, or nonprofit clients to national media, we provide services and counsel to companies on how they can plan for and manage PR crises.<\/p>\n<p>Below, we share our top 10 tips for managing a crisis:<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"1-pr-legal-a-strong-team\"><b>1. PR + Legal = A strong team<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll get the most value by having all perspectives at the table from the outset to work collaboratively. Make sure you have experienced legal counsel working with someone who\u2019s public relations savvy.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"2-survey-the-whole-landscape\"><b>2. Survey the whole landscape<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Anticipate the responses and concerns of all of your different stakeholders, from investors to employees to customers.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3-play-offense\"><b>3. Play offense<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Have a proactive strategy ready at all times. Your organization should be able to get out in front of the story rather than scrambling to play defense.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4-follow-the-moving-target\"><b>4. Follow the moving target<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Media coverage and public perception will change moment to moment, and one negative blogger can quickly build a stronghold of followers. Stay on top of coverage from every possible avenue: print, broadcast, and social media.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"5-dont-behave-like-an-ostrich\"><b>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Don\u2019t behave like an ostrich<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Putting your head in the sand and failing to return calls doesn\u2019t make the media go away. Stories will be written regardless, and those who refuse to speak with media lose the opportunity to shape the coverage.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"6-no-comment-is-a-comment\"><b>6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>\u201cNo Comment\u201d is a comment<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>And it speaks volumes. At the very least, prepare a statement to share with the media as your organization determines its long-term strategy.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"7-its-time-for-the-leader-to-lead\"><b>7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>It\u2019s time for the leader to lead<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>In most cases, CEOs should be the public face of the company at difficult times. Corporate leaders should communicate that they care and be clear about what they are doing to fix the problem.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"8-transparency-is-critical\"><b>8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Transparency is critical<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Smoke and mirrors won\u2019t minimize exposure. Tell the truth early and drive the way it is told &#8212; or risk having the story told for you. By hiding information, you may also continue to drive negative attention for much longer than necessary.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"9-saying-im-sorry-is-not-a-confession-of-guilt\"><b>9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Saying \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d is not a confession of guilt<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><i>\u00a0<\/i>In reality, it is the angry customers who become class-action plaintiffs. A carefully worded apology isn\u2019t an admission of liability, but it can be an invaluable balm.<b><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"10-become-a-pioneer\"><b><i><\/i><\/b><b>10.\u00a0 <\/b><b>Become a pioneer<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>At the right time, assess the opportunity to take a leadership position in effecting industry change around the vulnerability that gave rise to the problem. Was your website hacked? Offer to share what you learned with a commission or reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A business is never too small to face a scandal, litigation, disgruntled employee, or social media fiasco. (We\u2019ve seen five high-profile PR crises in the first half of 2014 alone, as McCown recently discussed on PR Newser.) As a Boston-based public relations firm, we decided to open a New York City office at WeWork Bryant [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1286,"featured_media":9062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Top 10 crisis preparation tips for entrepreneurs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A business is never too small to face a scandal, litigation, disgruntled employee, or social media fiasco. 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