By Gil Rudawsky, Rockford Gray Partner
There is a defining characteristic of every crisis, and how you manage it will largely determine whether your reputation has been grievously damaged or you emerge largely unscathed.
First, a definition of terms. Contrary to what your rising blood pressure may tell you, it is not a crisis simply because there is a reporter at the other end of your ringing phone. The questions may be tough, the coverage unflattering, but life goes on.
A crisis, a true crisis, is an episode that is so severe, so damaging to your reputation, you may lose your business, or suffer such a setback that recovery will be long, difficult and costly.
How do you make the discrimination between tough issue and crisis? Understanding the distinction is important because it will guide your response.
You will know you have a crisis when you have created a victim. How you manage the victim dimension of the crisis will determine the damage done to your reputation.
Victims come in three forms:
- People
- Animals
- The Environment
The mother of all crises, the Gulf Oil Spill, illustrates the point. BP hit the victim trifecta. The first people who were victims were the eleven workers who lost their lives when the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded. Think about how the news media reacted in the aftermath. The media focused virtually every second and every column inch of coverage on two topics: the investigation and the victims. And decidedly more on the victims. Animal victims; seabirds and other wildlife covered in oil. Environmental damage; estuaries contaminated by crude. People victims; jobs lost and businesses shuttered.
BP actually worked hard to manage the victim dimension of its crisis, but it was undercut by the now infamous quote from then-CEO Tony Hayward, “I want MY life back”. Why is that quote indelibly pressed into our memory? Because the media used it repeatedly as proof of Hayward’s callous disregard for the victims of his crisis.
The takeaway from that case history is this: the media will always sympathize with and identify with the victims. So, will most external audiences and even segments of your internal audience. That is why management of the victim dimension of a crisis is the critical factor in reputation management during a crisis.
The embrace of victims is critical to reputation preservation during a crisis. The circumstances can limit the embrace to spoken words, expressions of sympathy and vows to provide aid and comfort. Let’s acknowledge that verbal embrace may give your legal counsel pause. It is undeniably true that victims imply liability, but the fear of liability too often interferes with the appropriate management of the victim dimension of a crisis. Here’s the question to ask yourself when your legal interests and your public relations interests seem to be at odds: If the reputation of my business is irreparably damaged by my failure to manage the victim dimension of my crisis, then what will I have left to defend?
About the author: Gil Rudawsky specializes in issues and reputation management, and crisis communication. He began his career as a reporter in Aspen, Colo., and journalism took him across the country and then back to his native Denver, Colorado, where he worked for the Rocky Mountain News. His journalistic skills – source development, research, credibility, storytelling, and curiosity – remain the foundation of his work with clients. He has experience working on a range of issues across sectors, including federal investigations, corporate and workplace issues, DEI and public advocacy campaigns. He provides expert-level strategic counsel, including on-the-ground support. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, with a degree in philosophy.