crisis communications
Archived posts from this Category
Top Executives Must Build Trust with Workers/Customers
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 14 Sep 2009 | Tagged as: Communication, Motivate Like a CEO, Speak like a CEO, career advice, communications training for leaders, crisis communications, economic recovery, economic turnaround, economic upturn, employee motivation, employee productivity, employee stress, leadership and communication, leadership development, motivated employees
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Press Release: To Lead Companies Out of Recession Trust Ranks as Top Development Need |
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MEDIA CONTACT: “The recession has damaged trust between top-level executives and employees, and between company leaders and customers,” said Bates, president and CEO of Bates Communications (www.bates-communications.com). “Massive layoffs and cutbacks have harmed relationships between employers and remaining employees. Bankruptcies, closures, and failed business strategies have hurt trust between executives and those they do business with. Senior-level executives must work toward rebuilding that trust,” Bates added. The No. 1 way that executives will lead their organizations out of the recession is by meeting with customers and prospects to rebuild trust and win business, according to 77% of survey respondents. Trust-building was also selected as the ability that current executives most need to develop. 76% of survey respondents ranked building trust among employees and customers as the aptitude executives most need to develop. Furthermore, trustworthiness was rated second as the quality executives will need most to guide their companies post-recession, selected by 60% of survey respondents - behind only being visionary, which was chosen by 64%. “Because organizations are leaner due to layoffs and hiring freezes, employees are being asked to work harder with fewer financial incentives. CEOs cannot afford to miss the issue of trust, or they risk damaging the motivation of the very people who are key to the recovery,” said Bates. “Employees are losing steam as the recession drags on, and they continue to do more with less. Top talent is especially at risk. If leaders don’t keep building bridges to them, they will lose them when the economy improves,” Bates added. The least-favored way for executives to move their organizations forward is by developing a higher media profile, which was chosen by only 27% of respondents. Instead, company leaders should direct their efforts toward communicating with, inspiring, motivating, and engaging employees, the survey found. After rebuilding trust, the skills that C-suite executives will need most in order to move their businesses forward are: communicating more effectively about priorities; inspiring people to brainstorm new ideas; serving as Chief Motivating Officers; and engaging employees to take active roles in high-priority projects. However, current business leaders also need to sharpen their motivational and inspirational skills inside their organizations, according to the survey. Behind mending trust, they should perfect aligning their organizations toward a common purpose or vision; articulating a strategic direction; and speaking in a powerful way to motivate and inspire people to act. “This latest research confirms that CEOs need to engage their teams and win their trust. CEOs must provide straight talk about their plans for innovating and building a company that will thrive when the recession is over,” said Bates. “All senior-level leaders must learn to clearly communicate mission and purpose, and do it with passion, so that people are inspired. Leaders who serve as Chief Motivating Officers connect people with the company, the message, and the strategy, and find it far simpler to accomplish their goals. They have an entire organization of people who are working to achieve their own potential, and feel energized by their common purpose. These leaders harness energy and talent, and drive their organizations forward,” said Bates.” SURVEY RESULTS The skills that C-suite executives need most in order to lead their organizations out of the recession are: The skills that current executives most need to develop are: The qualities that leaders need right now to move their organizations forward are: About ‘Motivate Like a CEO’ Suzanne Bates is the author of “Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act!,” published by McGraw-Hill in January 2009, which became #1 best-seller in books on communication skills on amazon.com. She is also the author of the business best-seller “Speak Like a CEO, Secrets to Commanding Attention and Getting Results” (McGraw Hill 2005). She is President and CEO of Bates Communications Inc. www.bates-communications.com and blogs at www.thepowerspeakerblog.com
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CustomerTweets: Why Corporations Can’t Ignore Twitter
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 03 Aug 2009 | Tagged as: Uncategorized, YouTube, crisis communications, facebook, social media, twitter
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that a growing number of corporations are tracking social media such as Facebook and Twitter to gauge public sentiment and avert potential public relations disasters. Ford Motor Company, PepsiCo and Southwest Airlines are among the companies deploying software and assigning employees to monitor internet postings and blogs.
What does this mean to your company?
Whether you’re a large corporation or a small business, this is the time to get into the virtual conversation. If you don’t have a strategy to incorporate social media you’re falling behind. Consider this: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are rapidly becoming mainstream business communication tools. See my earlier post. You may not “get it” yet, but your clients and customers do.
Monitoring the conversation about your company is a monumental task. A cottage industry is already springing up around managing the virtual conversation. You either have to hire employees or find outside firms to stay on top of it and help you create positive online buzz. Yes, there is tracking software that will identify posts about your company, but let’s face it, you have to have human beings do the rest.
What’s interesting is that while the mode of communciation has changed, the principles of of communication are the same. This is especially true if people start saying crummy things about you, true or not. Crisis communication rules are in effect. That’s why you absolutely have to know what’s going on out there. You need to anticipate what issues could become a crisis and undermine your reputation.
If you’ve been through crisis media training, you already know that when you ignore an issue, that can trigger a ”secondary” crisis far worse than the original. The longer you ignore it, even if it is baseless rumor or the grumblings of disgruntled customers and employees, the greater the risk. So online, just as with traditional media, you have to get the facts out there. Be honest. Apologize if you mess up. The only difference is you have to be faster than ever before.
Click Here to download a complimentary article: CEO Survival, Crisis Communications: Media Interviews which applies to any and all types of media.
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Letterman: Was the Second Apology ENOUGH?
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 16 Jun 2009 | Tagged as: Communication, apology, crisis communications, interpersonal skills
No question David Letterman’s first attempt at apologizing over the Sarah Palin jokes failed - a few nights ago, he was clearly not feeling true remorse, and obviously defensive when he said he was sorry.
But, what about last night? On his show. Did he get it right the second time?
And, more importantly, should you care?
Let me take the second question first. We should care because -AS WE ALL KNOW -apologies are all too rare. We’ve all been on the receiving end of a half-hearted or insincere apology. It’s almost worse than no apology at all.
It requires a balance of confidence and humility to really apologize.
More importantly, it matters because a GOOD apology (when appropriate) enables you to build strong, deep, authentic relationships. It helps you in marriage, with your kids and family, and your friends. An apology is a gateway to improving the human condition. And yes, it is a great asset in business. It builds bridges to the future and that’s important because none of us are perfect. We have, and will continue to make mistakes.
Now to the first question, did he get it right.
This is not a yes or no. It is a matter of degree. The words were right. The tone still felt … well … like he did it because he had to. I would give it a 6.5 on a scale of 10. I have no idea what Letterman was actually thinking and feeling last night. He appeared to be in some pain. But whether that was because he felt the sting of remorse, or just shock over being chastised, only he knows for sure.
By reiterating it was a ”coarse joke” and saying that it was “beyond flawed,” he scored some points with me. ” He went on apologize not only to Palin but the the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, the Palin family (good so far) and “everyone else who was outraged by the joke.”
This is where I have trouble.
It reminds me of people who say, “I’m sorry if you were offended,” instead of “I’m sorry, what I said was offensive.” There should be no qualifier regarding who was offended. We should ALL be offended. When you add that part, you’re not owning it. You’re putting the emotional onus on others.
He finished by saying, ”I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much.” Again, maybe its semantics, but I would have left out the world “try.” This reminds me of people who appear to commit to you when they say, “Let’s try to have dinner this summer,” or “I’ll try to get back to you next week.” My opinion - the word “try” is a cop out. Commit. I WILL do better in the future.”
It also reminds me a little of the time when years ago, of Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized for mistreating women just days before the California recall election in which he was elected governor. Now I’m a huge fan of the governor’s, but when you read some of the things he supposedly did, which I will not to desribe in this column, he said “A lot of what you see in the stories is not true, but at the same time, I have behaved badly sometimes, I have done things which were not right which I thought was playful, and now I recognize that I have offended people.” Again, there’s that –sorry if YOU were offended thing.
If you want to read a phenomenal book about this topic of apology, I highly recommend “On Apology,” by Aaron Lazare, M.D. Chancellor, Dean and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is a leading authority on the psychology of shame and humiliation and wrote a highly regarded article on the topic that led to appearances on Oprah and Talk of the Nation. But don’t let his academic cred put you off. It’s a beautifully written and well documented look at topics such as the growing importance of apologies in today’s society; the meaning of apology; and the paradox of apology. It helped me understand more clearly how to acknowledge and offense, what it means to feel remorse, the concepts of explanation and reparation, and the overall healing power of a genuine apology.
I hope that Letterman meant it. I really do. Sarah Palin has accepted the apology, so I guess we should too. It’s just that I would rather be writing about a GREAT apology. Too bad they are so rare.
Here’s a clip of his apology if you want to listen. Let me know what YOU think.
Oh, and if I owe you an apology, will you let me know?
How a Prolonged State of Crisis Makes Your Employees Feel
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 10 Jun 2009 | Tagged as: Leadership, crisis communications, economic crisis, economic recovery, economic turnaround, economic upturn, economy, employee motivation, leadership and communication, motivated employees, motivating employees
If you subscribe to the idea that workplaces operate a lot like families (the personalities, the relationships, the challenges) then you might be interested in some information I found while researching the long term impact of crisis on a family. This information came from the Head Start program model for assessing crisis.
As you read these, ask yourself how it might apply to your team or organization.
During a crisis, people tend to:
Have difficulty thinking clearly. People in crisis may quickly skip from one idea to another in conversation, making them difficult and confusing to follow. They may have trouble relating ideas, events and activities to each other in a logical way.
Dwell on meaningless activities. In an attempt to combat anxiety, people in crisis may become overly involved in activities that are not productive. They are likely to need considerable help in focusing on activities that bring the crisis to an end.
Express hostility or numbness. The feeling of loss of control and vulnerability experienced by most people in crisis may be expressed through hostile words and actions directed toward anyone who intervenes in the situation. Others may withdraw or experience depression; they seem not to care about the crisis or its outcome
Act impulsively. Although some people become immobilized in crisis situations there are others who react impulsively without any regard to the consequences of their behavior. This makes a complex situation even more difficult to resolve.
Feel incompetent. A crisis presents a threat to one’s sense of personal competency and self-worth. To counter low self-esteem, people in crisis may assume a façade of adequacy or arrogance.
How can you counteract the impact of a prolonged state of crisis in your organization? Here are 7 steps you can take immediately to help you take the pulse of individuals and the organization as a whole, and get people focused and on track:
1. Schedule meetings with individuals on your team
2. Ask them about projects they enjoy or would enjoy doing
3 Facilitate ways for them to do work they enjoy that has an impact on the organization
4. Schedule the next meeting in two to three months to check in on how they’re doing
5 Talk about the big picture people long to work for a purpose greater than themselves
6. Focus conversation on the future – exciting opportunities ahead – this is one of the most important tenants of crisis communication – help people see what is possible
7. Talk about it in your meetings, your conversations and your emails – a steady flow of positive, future focused communication will alter the din of bad news
For more tips on how to lead during crisis, go to the articles section of our web site:
www.bates-communications.com/articles and click on leading in crisis.
Or go to our bookstores and order a copy of the booklet: The Power of Adversity, How to Communicate with Confidence, Make Powerful Connections, and Thrive in Challenging Times