Massey Earnings Down, Stock Price Up As a Buy-Out Appears Imminent

This is what can happen if you handle a crisis poorly, or in this case, terribly.

Do you remember Massey Energy, owner of the coal mine in West Virginia where an explosion in April killed 29 people? CEO Don Blankenship's approach to dealing with the media was to tell a reporter to get off his property or else he would shoot him.

A Business Brief in The Courier-Journal in Louisville today carried this item: "The comments (on a telephone conference) seemed to acknowledge that as long as the current management and board are in place, government scrutiny will weigh more on the company than on its competitors, said Jefferies analyst Brett Levy. Massey President Baxter Phillips said in the call that 'management focus and attention continued to be distracted as the management team supported the federal investigation.'" (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101030/BUSINESS/310300070/1003/Business+Briefs+%7C+Massey+Energy+stock+rises+on+speculation+about+sale)

When developing a crisis plan, your CEO or top leader needs to be supportive and understand the importance of such a plan. Show him or her the quote from Phillips and say you're trying to protect top management and the organization's asset. Most say, "But it can't happen to me." It can and it does.