How to Save Face in a Crisis

Lastly, prepare a communications list of reporters, investors, customers, business partners, advisors, employees, third-party experts, community leaders and anyone else who should be notified during a crisis. Have this list in an easily accessible database, along with contact information for your internal crisis team members, for immediate reference.

Confronting a Crisis

When a crisis occurs, the first step is to admit to yourself you've got a problem. It's a natural response to flee during times of distress, but this type of reaction will guarantee doom. Ignoring a problem in the hope that it'll "blow over" will only fuel the fire and increase the chances of a full-blown crisis. No matter the size or scope of a crisis, it's wise to respond as quickly and as directly as possible.

Gather your crisis team and immediately review your database of scenarios and messages, determining the best course of action based upon the pre-planning you've done.

Even if you don't have all the information at hand, you must determine an early response and communicate it immediately, even if it's only to acknowledge that you're aware of the situation and are investigating it. If you don't, you risk losing immediate control of the message and letting other people outside of your business establish themselves as the authority.

Also important to managing a crisis is controlling the flow of information. This can be achieved by implementing two measures. First, establish a single spokesperson for your business, even if it's you yourself. The spokesperson will be the face and voice of the organization throughout the crisis, whether talking to the press or internal staff. Having a single spokesperson should ensure that the tone and content of what's said is consistent. Mixed messages cause confusion, and confusion worsens any crisis situation.

A second measure for controlling the flow of information is establishing a central location for news. An organization's Web site is ideal for this. Web sites are a known information resource, are readily accessible and can be easily updated. In fact, well before the hint of a crisis, it's wise for an organization to consider establishing "dark pages" that are engineered specifically for crisis situations and can be turned on at a moment's notice.

Dark pages should initially contain basic information about the company and how it responds to a crisis, such as where to go for updates, key contact information, etc. Once live, the site can be populated with news about the specific situation and updates from the company. There are easy-to-use content-management tools that let you update specific pages of a Web site from wherever you are.