So the New Year is upon us, and it’s time to start jotting down a resolution or two. For those that sit in the hot seat, allow me to offer you a few suggestions.
- Reach out to the CEOs at Volkswagen, Lumber Liquidators and Chipotle and ask these questions:
- What did it feel like to have the world looking at you for answers, and you didn’t have anything to say?
- How did your family and friends treat you after the news broke?
- What role did your values play in your response?
- If you could do one thing differently, what would that be?
- Did you ever think something like this could happen to you?
- Check out this FBI report on active shooters in the U.S., and ask yourself, “Could this happen at my company?”
- Review the following crisis cases – Target’s data breach, BP’s oil spill and Honda’s airbag debacle – and determine what happened to the CEOs of those companies.
- Review your personnel file to determine that last time you participated in hardcore media training.
- Breathe easy, because you know you have a solid crisis plan, have trained on that plan recently, have a good spokesperson on stand-by and have the materials you need to respond within the first 30 minutes of a crisis.
If you really want to find out if you’re ready – visit http://crisisiq.padillacrt.com.