It has been a while, but I have written a couple times here about daycare centers and how they, like everyone else, need to have a crisis communications plan. (See my post on February 27, 2008, to read about a daycare that hired a sex offender, which led to a revocation of its license. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html)) It would be easy and inexpensive for groups of daycares to band together and hire a proven crisis communications firm to produce a plan.
I guess Jackie's Daycare had a plan in the event of a crisis: Flea the country! Jackie's, formerly operated out of a home in western Houston, caught fire February 24, killing four infants and toddlers and severely burning others. Director Jessica Tata fled to her native Nigeria but eventually was apprehended. She pleaded innocent last week to all the charges against her.
A surveillance tape and receipt show Tata was shopping at Target a mile away when the fire started. (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7488462.html)
Parents expect allegedly professional care-givers to take first-rate care of the most important part of their lives. That doesn't always happen, but I haven't found a daycare yet, even the chains, that have workable crisis communications plans. Such plans should be geared to regaining the support of customers so the proprietor can regain their confidence and support. Again, developing crisis communications plans is cheaper than and just as important as insurance.
It's too common for daycares and preschools to experience crises. Without plans, recovery is difficult or impossible. Just a few examples:
* "A Lawrenceville (Pennsylvania) couple is angry after their 5-year-old daughter wandered out of a neighborhood daycare center (operated by Pittsburgh Public Schools) and walked home alone. Jamie Accamando said she was never notified about her child disappearing from the school. Ionna was missing for about 15 minutes before her father, Dwayne Young, brought her back to McCleary Early Childhood Center after she showed up at the door crying without her coat." (http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/03/30/5-year-old-wanders-from-local-daycare-center/)
* "A group of day care center operators bribed workers at three New York City agencies and exploited the complex social service bureaucracy to loot millions of dollars from a program that pays child-care expenses for poor parents so they can find work, officials said Tuesday....The city workers helped the day care centers bill the city for children who were not enrolled or for services never provided, and allowed them to remain open despite flouting rules on floor space, background checks of employees and teacher-child ratios, a criminal complaint said." (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/nyregion/11daycare.html?_r=1&ref=daycarecenters)
* "Federal undercover investigators found workers at federally financed child care centers frequently misrepresenting information about applicants’ job status and earnings to fraudulently register ineligible children, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Tuesday....An employee at one New Jersey Head Start center disregarded $23,000 worth of income to qualify a too-affluent, fictitious family the undercover agents were seeking to register. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/education/19headstart.html?ref=daycarecenters)
* "Police officers, responding to an attempted robbery at a Brooklyn day care center on Friday afternoon, shot a man who had stormed into the center and pointed a gun at arriving officers as a group of frightened children stood nearby, the authorities said. The shooting unfolded at the Special Moments Daycare in East Flatbush after two men entered intent on stealing money, the police said. At the time, about a dozen children, mostly toddlers, were napping in a room on the building’s ground floor."
Some crises are preventable if the leaders identify smoldering crises and take action, and if they operate legally. Others, like an attempted robbery at gunpoint, are more difficult to prevent. Smoldering and sudden crises have a common element: both can be dealt with more effectively if daycare centers prepare with crisis communications plans.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Bronx Cobra Captured Without Incident
We had good news today about that missing cobra at the Bronx Zoo (See my March 29 post below). The zoo seems to be continuing to handle this crisis well from a communications aspect.
Officials were quick to call a news conference, and explained that now an investigation of how the deadly snake escaped can begin in earnest. The cobra was missing for five days and was found in the reptile house, as zoo keepers expected earlier in the week.
The incident attracted national attention, social media spoofs, and marketing opportunities. "The Twitter handle @BronxZoosCobra, which tweets in the voice of the missing cobra, has been giving followers hourly updates on its adventures around the Big Apple. Since launching, it has build a strong following topping 200,000 followers.
"'We appreciated the element, but at the same time we had to stay focused in recovering the animal,'" Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo told reporters when asked about the Twitter spoof.
"CafePress.com also capitalized on the cobra saga, unveiling a long line of products with its New York Cobra logo, mugs, T-shirts and totes." (http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-missing-bronx-cobra-captured,0,5772161.story)
I hope the zoo will issue a news release when it determines how the cobra escaped. Based on the website's information updates and the news conferences, I have a feeling the zoo will let the public know the cause.
I wish more organizations were this available to the public and the media and didn't count on silence to avoid publicity. If anything, the Bronx Zoo came out of this crisis with more positive community perceptions than before. After all, isn't that the ideal of our crisis communications planning?
Officials were quick to call a news conference, and explained that now an investigation of how the deadly snake escaped can begin in earnest. The cobra was missing for five days and was found in the reptile house, as zoo keepers expected earlier in the week.
The incident attracted national attention, social media spoofs, and marketing opportunities. "The Twitter handle @BronxZoosCobra, which tweets in the voice of the missing cobra, has been giving followers hourly updates on its adventures around the Big Apple. Since launching, it has build a strong following topping 200,000 followers.
"'We appreciated the element, but at the same time we had to stay focused in recovering the animal,'" Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo told reporters when asked about the Twitter spoof.
"CafePress.com also capitalized on the cobra saga, unveiling a long line of products with its New York Cobra logo, mugs, T-shirts and totes." (http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-missing-bronx-cobra-captured,0,5772161.story)
I hope the zoo will issue a news release when it determines how the cobra escaped. Based on the website's information updates and the news conferences, I have a feeling the zoo will let the public know the cause.
I wish more organizations were this available to the public and the media and didn't count on silence to avoid publicity. If anything, the Bronx Zoo came out of this crisis with more positive community perceptions than before. After all, isn't that the ideal of our crisis communications planning?
NTSB Accuses Driver of Lying About Fatal Bus Crash
I wrote on March 15 about the World Wide Bus accident near New York City two days earlier. The driver claimed that a tractor-trailer caused the death of 15 passengers. The National Transportation Center can't find any evidence that the driver is telling the truth.
"One of the primary findings of the investigation so far is that contrary to bus driver Ophadell Williams' statement to authorities that a tractor-trailer may have clipped the bus causing the accident, the NTSB engineer who examined the bus found no evidence to indicate that a truck had come into contact with it, NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman told CNN." (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/30/new.york.bus.crash.ntsb/)
CNN also reported that Hersman told a Senate hearing on bus safety that the bus drifted to the right before it hit a roadside barrier. "After hitting the barrier, the bus rolled and skidded for nearly 500 feet before colliding with a highway signpost that penetrated the windshield and speared the entire length of the bus....Investigators determined that the bus was traveling at 78 miles per hour at some point between leaving the Connecticut casino and the scene of the accident, while the speed limit at that stretch of roadway was 50 miles per hour for commercial vehicles, Hersman told CNN."
A camera mounted on the windshield was turned off.
Tragedies like this often affect the entire industry, and bus companies nationwide should be looking at their own operations to see what they can do to ensure safe operations, including screening drivers better. In fact, NTSB is already proposing changes to better protect passengers.
World Wide Travel probably has up-to-date information about the investigation on its website, right? There must be sympathy for survivors and victims' families. There has to be a description of changes made to improve safety to be sure customers don't shy away and choose a competitor.
A visit to the website shows that absolutely nothing has changed since early March. The blog's last entry was March 9. That "blog" is nothing more than five compliments in various publications, which are repeated under "news." A list of tags leads only to promotions for trips, and many tags lead to dead ends. (http://www.worldwidebus.com/index.php?page=blog/view_cat&cat=2)
By ignoring the New York accident, World Wide Travel is risking a dropoff in business and appears to be insensitive. Others in the bus transportation business better learn from this blunder. Prepare a dark site you can activate in the event of a catastrophe like this wreck -- whatever business you are in.
"One of the primary findings of the investigation so far is that contrary to bus driver Ophadell Williams' statement to authorities that a tractor-trailer may have clipped the bus causing the accident, the NTSB engineer who examined the bus found no evidence to indicate that a truck had come into contact with it, NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman told CNN." (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/30/new.york.bus.crash.ntsb/)
CNN also reported that Hersman told a Senate hearing on bus safety that the bus drifted to the right before it hit a roadside barrier. "After hitting the barrier, the bus rolled and skidded for nearly 500 feet before colliding with a highway signpost that penetrated the windshield and speared the entire length of the bus....Investigators determined that the bus was traveling at 78 miles per hour at some point between leaving the Connecticut casino and the scene of the accident, while the speed limit at that stretch of roadway was 50 miles per hour for commercial vehicles, Hersman told CNN."
A camera mounted on the windshield was turned off.
Tragedies like this often affect the entire industry, and bus companies nationwide should be looking at their own operations to see what they can do to ensure safe operations, including screening drivers better. In fact, NTSB is already proposing changes to better protect passengers.
World Wide Travel probably has up-to-date information about the investigation on its website, right? There must be sympathy for survivors and victims' families. There has to be a description of changes made to improve safety to be sure customers don't shy away and choose a competitor.
A visit to the website shows that absolutely nothing has changed since early March. The blog's last entry was March 9. That "blog" is nothing more than five compliments in various publications, which are repeated under "news." A list of tags leads only to promotions for trips, and many tags lead to dead ends. (http://www.worldwidebus.com/index.php?page=blog/view_cat&cat=2)
By ignoring the New York accident, World Wide Travel is risking a dropoff in business and appears to be insensitive. Others in the bus transportation business better learn from this blunder. Prepare a dark site you can activate in the event of a catastrophe like this wreck -- whatever business you are in.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Massey Energy: Here We Go Again
Don Blankenship's Legacy lives on.
I thought when he was forced out as CEO last December that I had heard the last of Massey Energy Co., a coal mining firm I have blogged about many times in the past few years. But no, Massey again is making news. To refresh your memory, it was a Massey mine in West Virginia where 29 miners died a year ago in an underground explosion. Blankenship was the guy who threatened to shoot a reporter in the parking lot if he didn't get off his property (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ym8qqR5vU). My last post about the company was on March 1. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/03/massey-employee-arrested-crisis.html)
The latest: "Massey Energy Co. was cited for more than 80 safety violations uncovered in the latest round of special inspections targeting troubled mines in the United States, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Monday. The Massey citations are among 166 issued at eight mines in five states during special inspections in February, MSHA said.
"'MSHA has been conducting these targeted inspections for nearly a year and, while some operators have been responsive and showed a willingness to change, others continue to commit the same serious violations,' director Joe Main said in a statement." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110328/ap_on_re_us/us_mine_safety_3)
Surprisingly, Massey had a response this time: "'We treat citations seriously and we are working diligently to constantly improve safety at our operations,' said Jeff Gillenwater, a spokesman for Richmond, Va.-based Massey." Hogwash!
To summarize the accusations against Blankenship and Massey Energy, I will refer to a letter to the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, last April from Attorney Kevin Zeese. "It is clear from the above list that Mr. Blankenship 1) does not want his mines to be regulated, 2) does not believe that public officials in Washington have a right to regulate the safety of his mines, 3) will avoid and ignore regulations, citations, and fines, 4) considers the bottom line and profits as more important than the safety of his workers, 5) treats worker deaths as a cost of business and a public relations problem that must not be allowed to affect the stock of Massey, 6) sees politicians and judges as mere pawns who can be bought to protect him and his company, 7)considers the Chamber of Commerce, with its army of lobbyists and lawyers, and unlimited funds, as his front line of defense to any problem he or his company faces, and 8) will make broad use of fear, intimidation, threats, suits and even violence to avoid scrutiny." For details of this list, see http://www.velvetrevolution.us/stop_chamber/images/DOJ_Blankenship_Complaint.pdf.
Apparently, not much has changed in the past 12 months, or the past three since Blankenship left. "At the other three Massey operations, the rate of serious violations was above 60 percent, MSHA said. That included 11 serious violations cited at subsidiary Elk Run Coal's Seng Creek Powellton mine about 40 miles south of Charleston in Boone County."
Don't let your organization become the next Massey Energy. If there's a problem, fix it before it becomes a crisis.
I thought when he was forced out as CEO last December that I had heard the last of Massey Energy Co., a coal mining firm I have blogged about many times in the past few years. But no, Massey again is making news. To refresh your memory, it was a Massey mine in West Virginia where 29 miners died a year ago in an underground explosion. Blankenship was the guy who threatened to shoot a reporter in the parking lot if he didn't get off his property (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Ym8qqR5vU). My last post about the company was on March 1. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/03/massey-employee-arrested-crisis.html)
The latest: "Massey Energy Co. was cited for more than 80 safety violations uncovered in the latest round of special inspections targeting troubled mines in the United States, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Monday. The Massey citations are among 166 issued at eight mines in five states during special inspections in February, MSHA said.
"'MSHA has been conducting these targeted inspections for nearly a year and, while some operators have been responsive and showed a willingness to change, others continue to commit the same serious violations,' director Joe Main said in a statement." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110328/ap_on_re_us/us_mine_safety_3)
Surprisingly, Massey had a response this time: "'We treat citations seriously and we are working diligently to constantly improve safety at our operations,' said Jeff Gillenwater, a spokesman for Richmond, Va.-based Massey." Hogwash!
To summarize the accusations against Blankenship and Massey Energy, I will refer to a letter to the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, last April from Attorney Kevin Zeese. "It is clear from the above list that Mr. Blankenship 1) does not want his mines to be regulated, 2) does not believe that public officials in Washington have a right to regulate the safety of his mines, 3) will avoid and ignore regulations, citations, and fines, 4) considers the bottom line and profits as more important than the safety of his workers, 5) treats worker deaths as a cost of business and a public relations problem that must not be allowed to affect the stock of Massey, 6) sees politicians and judges as mere pawns who can be bought to protect him and his company, 7)considers the Chamber of Commerce, with its army of lobbyists and lawyers, and unlimited funds, as his front line of defense to any problem he or his company faces, and 8) will make broad use of fear, intimidation, threats, suits and even violence to avoid scrutiny." For details of this list, see http://www.velvetrevolution.us/stop_chamber/images/DOJ_Blankenship_Complaint.pdf.
Apparently, not much has changed in the past 12 months, or the past three since Blankenship left. "At the other three Massey operations, the rate of serious violations was above 60 percent, MSHA said. That included 11 serious violations cited at subsidiary Elk Run Coal's Seng Creek Powellton mine about 40 miles south of Charleston in Boone County."
Don't let your organization become the next Massey Energy. If there's a problem, fix it before it becomes a crisis.
Zoo Deals With Escaped Cobra
The Bronx Zoo is taking its slogan to heart: "Connecting People to Wild Nature."
An adolescent cobra escaped from an off-exhibit enclosure sometime Sunday afternoon and remains on the loose. CNN reported, "Its venom is so deadly that it can kill a full-grown elephant in three hours -- or a person in about 15 minutes, according to wildlife experts. The venom destroys nerve tissue and causes paralysis and death due to respiratory failure." (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/27/new.york.missing.cobra/index.html?hpt=T2)
It appears the zoo staff, including communications, has responded appropriately. They closed the reptile house immediately when the snake turned up missing. They made sure to notify the media and zoo visitors. The good news, according to the release on the zoo's website, is, "Based on our knowledge of the natural history and behavior of snakes, we know they seek closed-in spaces and are not comfortable in open areas. We are confident that the snake, about 20 inches long, is contained in a non-public, isolation area within the building." http://www.bronxzoo.com/multimedia/headlines/reptile-house-closed.aspx) A link to the release with a hazard triangle has been added to the home page.
I hope they are right about the snake still being in the building. To have a cobra laying in the bushes along a walkway would be disastrous for the zoo and tragic for anyone who unwittingly got too close.
The news release goes on to say, "We are informing the public out of an abundance of caution and will continue to take whatever steps necessary to ensure public safety. We are making this information public through the media, bronxzoo.com and at our ticket windows."
I've written on this blog countless times that transparency has to be an important part of your crisis communications plan. Too many businesses and nonprofits seem to believe the best approach is to say nothing: "Cobra? What cobra?" That's usually a major miscalculation. I hope the Bronx Zoo keeps up the good work -- and finds that snake.
An adolescent cobra escaped from an off-exhibit enclosure sometime Sunday afternoon and remains on the loose. CNN reported, "Its venom is so deadly that it can kill a full-grown elephant in three hours -- or a person in about 15 minutes, according to wildlife experts. The venom destroys nerve tissue and causes paralysis and death due to respiratory failure." (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/27/new.york.missing.cobra/index.html?hpt=T2)
It appears the zoo staff, including communications, has responded appropriately. They closed the reptile house immediately when the snake turned up missing. They made sure to notify the media and zoo visitors. The good news, according to the release on the zoo's website, is, "Based on our knowledge of the natural history and behavior of snakes, we know they seek closed-in spaces and are not comfortable in open areas. We are confident that the snake, about 20 inches long, is contained in a non-public, isolation area within the building." http://www.bronxzoo.com/multimedia/headlines/reptile-house-closed.aspx) A link to the release with a hazard triangle has been added to the home page.
I hope they are right about the snake still being in the building. To have a cobra laying in the bushes along a walkway would be disastrous for the zoo and tragic for anyone who unwittingly got too close.
The news release goes on to say, "We are informing the public out of an abundance of caution and will continue to take whatever steps necessary to ensure public safety. We are making this information public through the media, bronxzoo.com and at our ticket windows."
I've written on this blog countless times that transparency has to be an important part of your crisis communications plan. Too many businesses and nonprofits seem to believe the best approach is to say nothing: "Cobra? What cobra?" That's usually a major miscalculation. I hope the Bronx Zoo keeps up the good work -- and finds that snake.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Crisis Communications Firm Adds New Services
The Institute for Crisis Management, where I serve as a senior consultant, announced yesterday that it is expanding services offered to its clients. This addition to the company's capabilities comes with the addition of Erika Hayes James, Ph.D. (Visit her website at http://www.erikahayesjames.com.)
"Dr. James' work in crisis leadership explores the skills necessary to lead organizations throughout the life of a business crisis" according to the ICM news release. "She examines the personal attributes of executives and numerous organizational factors that allow some companies to seize opportunity from crisis -- such as opportunities for organizational growth, innovation, resilience, change, and rebuilding trust in the organization."
ICM President Larry Smith lists some of the skills Dr. James brings to the firm that will be valuable to its clients worldwide:
• Decision-making under pressure
• Managing, learning from, and seizing opportunity from crisis
• Managing the change process after a crisis
• Workplace diversity
• Building trust in the workplace
"Her corporate clients include Fortune 500 companies such as Intel, Freddie Mac, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Merrill Lynch, and Farmers Insurance. She has also helped numerous companies unique to their respective communities, such as Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, and Clark Construction, in Bethesda, MD."
The March 27 release went on to say, "Smith has worked with Dr. James since 2003, when he was named a Batten Fellow at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia where she is currently a Bank of America Associate Research Professor of Business Administration, and recently a visiting Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School." Last year, Dr. James wrote a book, Leading Under Pressure: From surviving to thriving before, during and after a crisis.
For more on ICM and its crisis planning, crisis communications, and training, visit http://www.crisisconsultant.com.
"Dr. James' work in crisis leadership explores the skills necessary to lead organizations throughout the life of a business crisis" according to the ICM news release. "She examines the personal attributes of executives and numerous organizational factors that allow some companies to seize opportunity from crisis -- such as opportunities for organizational growth, innovation, resilience, change, and rebuilding trust in the organization."
ICM President Larry Smith lists some of the skills Dr. James brings to the firm that will be valuable to its clients worldwide:
• Decision-making under pressure
• Managing, learning from, and seizing opportunity from crisis
• Managing the change process after a crisis
• Workplace diversity
• Building trust in the workplace
"Her corporate clients include Fortune 500 companies such as Intel, Freddie Mac, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Merrill Lynch, and Farmers Insurance. She has also helped numerous companies unique to their respective communities, such as Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, and Clark Construction, in Bethesda, MD."
The March 27 release went on to say, "Smith has worked with Dr. James since 2003, when he was named a Batten Fellow at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia where she is currently a Bank of America Associate Research Professor of Business Administration, and recently a visiting Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School." Last year, Dr. James wrote a book, Leading Under Pressure: From surviving to thriving before, during and after a crisis.
For more on ICM and its crisis planning, crisis communications, and training, visit http://www.crisisconsultant.com.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Georgia Police Officer Fired for Being Pregnant
Sometimes, organizations create their own crises because -- well, I'm not quite sure. Take the Thomson, Georgia, police department for example. A pregnant woman was fired because she was pregnant.(http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/03/24/dnt.pregnant.cop.fired.WAGT?hpt=T2) That was significant enough to make CNN.
Pregnant women, children, and senior citizens can make a non-story a national story. Keep that in mind as you manage your crises.
Pregnant women, children, and senior citizens can make a non-story a national story. Keep that in mind as you manage your crises.
CES Environmental Practices Lead to Unnecessary Crisis
Just this week, I received a negative comment on a blog post I wrote back in August 2009 (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2009/08/doing-right-thing-example-of-terrible.html). I wrote about CES Environmental Services and a long list of environmental and safety violations. Thanks to Anonymous' comment, I decided to research the latest on CES.
This story appeared in the Houston Chronicle on August 31, 2010. "CES Environmental Services, the Houston-based waste management company that ran afoul with neighbors and regulators over odors, explosions and on-the-job deaths at its plants, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The move came seven months after Houston halted wastewater service to the company's Griggs Road facility....
"In the filing, CES reported between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities and less than $50,000 in assets.... The company has been at odds with regulators since 2005, when neighbors of the facility began to complain about sickening odors. Over the past four years, the city's Bureau of Air Quality Control has received more than 200 complaints about the smells wafting from the plant.
"An explosion at the plant sent metal debris into the backyards of residents in December 2008. Neighbors said they were assured the causes of the blast had been corrected, but another explosion occurred two weeks later. In July 2009, CES employee Bruce Clayton Howard died when an explosion and flash fire at the plant knocked him from the top of a tank he was filling with water. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $1.5 million for safety violations after an investigation into the death, which was the third at CES facilities in less than a year.
"Citing CES' troubled past, Bank of America, one of the company's creditors, has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm to convert the case from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a so-called Chapter 7 liquidation. The bank contends that it is doubtful that CES will be able to generate business and address regulatory issues under its existing management." (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7180561.html)
A browse through CES' website shows the last news release came on October 20, 2009. It expresses defiance against the state attorney general. (http://www.cesenvironmental.com/news.htm) No place do I see any information about bankruptcy, explosions, fatalities, or fines.
Come on, Anonymous. Don't blame the news media. Don't blame me. This is a company that had a smoldering crisis that is still in denial. Organizations that circle the wagons will continue to be attacked. Own up to your mistakes. Change the way you do business, or else your smoldering crisis may be your demise.
This story appeared in the Houston Chronicle on August 31, 2010. "CES Environmental Services, the Houston-based waste management company that ran afoul with neighbors and regulators over odors, explosions and on-the-job deaths at its plants, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The move came seven months after Houston halted wastewater service to the company's Griggs Road facility....
"In the filing, CES reported between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities and less than $50,000 in assets.... The company has been at odds with regulators since 2005, when neighbors of the facility began to complain about sickening odors. Over the past four years, the city's Bureau of Air Quality Control has received more than 200 complaints about the smells wafting from the plant.
"An explosion at the plant sent metal debris into the backyards of residents in December 2008. Neighbors said they were assured the causes of the blast had been corrected, but another explosion occurred two weeks later. In July 2009, CES employee Bruce Clayton Howard died when an explosion and flash fire at the plant knocked him from the top of a tank he was filling with water. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $1.5 million for safety violations after an investigation into the death, which was the third at CES facilities in less than a year.
"Citing CES' troubled past, Bank of America, one of the company's creditors, has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm to convert the case from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a so-called Chapter 7 liquidation. The bank contends that it is doubtful that CES will be able to generate business and address regulatory issues under its existing management." (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7180561.html)
A browse through CES' website shows the last news release came on October 20, 2009. It expresses defiance against the state attorney general. (http://www.cesenvironmental.com/news.htm) No place do I see any information about bankruptcy, explosions, fatalities, or fines.
Come on, Anonymous. Don't blame the news media. Don't blame me. This is a company that had a smoldering crisis that is still in denial. Organizations that circle the wagons will continue to be attacked. Own up to your mistakes. Change the way you do business, or else your smoldering crisis may be your demise.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
A Foxhole Mentality When It Comes to Crises Doesn't Work
You probably won't get away with trying to sweep your crisis under the proverbial rug. If the crisis has gone public, or has the potential to go public, the more up-front you are, the sooner people will forget about it. It may seem counter intuitive, but the less you say, the more people will talk about it, and vice-versa. Ignoring the crisis won't make it go away. I'm not suggesting you tell your stakeholders everything you know. Tell just enough to satisfy them, then get off the stage.
A good illustration of this took place in Louisville, Kentucky, last week. A science teacher from duPont Manual High School was caught half naked in a car with a 17-year-old boy, both of them smelling of beer. A condom lay next to the car. Of course she had to resign immediately, and her indiscretion made all the news outlets. It also made the high school news outlets, as student journalists quickly wrote about the incident on the website and in the school's newspaper. The principal, Larry Wooldridge, however, ordered students to clear all articles through him before posting and publishing. He said he was concerned about the negative publicity this nationally recognized school would receive.
Instead of suppressing the news, he opened himself up to more publicity. His rule created a whole new stir in the news media and created the opposite effect he was going for. The incident made the editorial page of today's The Courier-Journal. "However, he should also be concerned that students at his school learn the value of a free press, and the refreshing cleansing of the truth. It will be far less damaging than unreported news." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110319/OPINION01/303190034/1016/OPINION/Forum-flashes-Good-moves-bad-moves?odyssey=modnewswelltextOpinions)
Wooldridge's directive even led to students producing a video, which the newspaper posted on its website at http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110319/OPINION01/303190034/1016/OPINION/Forum-flashes-Good-moves-bad-moves?odyssey=modnewswelltextOpinions.
And by me writing here about the subject, it's one more hit on the story the principal tried to hush up. Suppressing bad news makes the story even bigger once it gets out. Don't make the mistake of thinking less is less.
A good illustration of this took place in Louisville, Kentucky, last week. A science teacher from duPont Manual High School was caught half naked in a car with a 17-year-old boy, both of them smelling of beer. A condom lay next to the car. Of course she had to resign immediately, and her indiscretion made all the news outlets. It also made the high school news outlets, as student journalists quickly wrote about the incident on the website and in the school's newspaper. The principal, Larry Wooldridge, however, ordered students to clear all articles through him before posting and publishing. He said he was concerned about the negative publicity this nationally recognized school would receive.
Instead of suppressing the news, he opened himself up to more publicity. His rule created a whole new stir in the news media and created the opposite effect he was going for. The incident made the editorial page of today's The Courier-Journal. "However, he should also be concerned that students at his school learn the value of a free press, and the refreshing cleansing of the truth. It will be far less damaging than unreported news." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110319/OPINION01/303190034/1016/OPINION/Forum-flashes-Good-moves-bad-moves?odyssey=modnewswelltextOpinions)
Wooldridge's directive even led to students producing a video, which the newspaper posted on its website at http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110319/OPINION01/303190034/1016/OPINION/Forum-flashes-Good-moves-bad-moves?odyssey=modnewswelltextOpinions.
And by me writing here about the subject, it's one more hit on the story the principal tried to hush up. Suppressing bad news makes the story even bigger once it gets out. Don't make the mistake of thinking less is less.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Victims of Others' Crises Still Need a Plan
All too frequently, others' crises become our own. That's one of many reasons why no one should become complacent and arrogant that "it won't happen here."
A gas line in Minneapolis exploded Thursday, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air. Amazingly, no one was injured. But there still was a sudden crisis to manage.
"The blast and fire scorched parked vehicles and opened a large hole in the street near the entrance to a Cub Foods store. Homes and businesses in an eight-block area surrounding the fire were evacuated for several hours.... The explosion happened so close to the interchange of Interstate 35W and Highway 62 that the highways were closed for several hours until the gas line was shut off at about 10:30 a.m. One section of the interstate remained closed longer as it was inspected for damage before being pronounced safe." (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42129903/ns/us_news-life/)
Imagine you are the owner of Cub Foods. Customers panic, your store is in jeopardy, and cars in the parking lot are on fire. What do you do from an immediate crisis perspective? Then what do you do later to communicate to customers your store is safe and sustained no damage and it's okay to come on back and shop? Do you have an operational plan and crisis communications plan, or do you wing it on the fly?
Now imagine you run a business just off 35W and Highway 62. It's early in the morning and both the interchange and the interstate are closed for hours. Will your employees be able to make it to work? How do you handle an evacuation and ensure all your employees are accounted for? When you evacuate, do you take the time to shut down data processing to protect proprietary information, or do you tell your employees to run like heck? What about that just-in-time shipment you promised to your biggest customer? How can you communicate with your suppliers that they won't be able to make it through that interchange. Remember, the traffic will be tied up long after the roads are opened.
The Institute for Crisis Management (http://www.crisisexperts.com/) has a client whose headquarters is a matter of yards away from a busy interchange. We have conducted tabletop exercises with them that include a hazardous waste spill that closes the interchange and forces an evacuation. That company is well-prepared.
But we all know that's not going to happen, right? Just like Cub Foods knew a gas line would never explode next to the parking lot.
Our mantra: Have a plan, practice the plan.
A gas line in Minneapolis exploded Thursday, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air. Amazingly, no one was injured. But there still was a sudden crisis to manage.
"The blast and fire scorched parked vehicles and opened a large hole in the street near the entrance to a Cub Foods store. Homes and businesses in an eight-block area surrounding the fire were evacuated for several hours.... The explosion happened so close to the interchange of Interstate 35W and Highway 62 that the highways were closed for several hours until the gas line was shut off at about 10:30 a.m. One section of the interstate remained closed longer as it was inspected for damage before being pronounced safe." (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42129903/ns/us_news-life/)Imagine you are the owner of Cub Foods. Customers panic, your store is in jeopardy, and cars in the parking lot are on fire. What do you do from an immediate crisis perspective? Then what do you do later to communicate to customers your store is safe and sustained no damage and it's okay to come on back and shop? Do you have an operational plan and crisis communications plan, or do you wing it on the fly?
Now imagine you run a business just off 35W and Highway 62. It's early in the morning and both the interchange and the interstate are closed for hours. Will your employees be able to make it to work? How do you handle an evacuation and ensure all your employees are accounted for? When you evacuate, do you take the time to shut down data processing to protect proprietary information, or do you tell your employees to run like heck? What about that just-in-time shipment you promised to your biggest customer? How can you communicate with your suppliers that they won't be able to make it through that interchange. Remember, the traffic will be tied up long after the roads are opened.
The Institute for Crisis Management (http://www.crisisexperts.com/) has a client whose headquarters is a matter of yards away from a busy interchange. We have conducted tabletop exercises with them that include a hazardous waste spill that closes the interchange and forces an evacuation. That company is well-prepared.
But we all know that's not going to happen, right? Just like Cub Foods knew a gas line would never explode next to the parking lot.
Our mantra: Have a plan, practice the plan.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Smoldering Crises Ignored Inhouse Will Be Solved For You Outhouse
I posted on November 12, 13, and December 9, 2010, about a scandal at Passport Health Plan,
an organization that provides Medicaid services for a group of counties in Kentucky.
A state audit said the executive vice president and associate vice president received large salaries, ate in expensive restaurants, and traveled extensively. In addition, the report said Passport spent money inappropriately on lobbying and public relations and donated hundreds of thousands to causes that had nothing to do with health care. The two people alluded to above were fired, the governor ordered an investigation, and elected officials continue to look over the organization's shoulder.
I don't mean to beat this dead horse, but it's worth following this ongoing story because it teaches a valuable lesson about smoldering crises: Don't have them! If Passport had been more on the ball and anticipated an outcry against frivolous use of tax dollars, no one would have ever known. If management had voluntarily and quietly reduced top salaries, cut out meals at expensive restaurants, and quit jetting about for no good reason, there never would have been a state senator's call for an audit.
An editorial in Thursday's The Courier-Journal in Louisville triumphed in its court victory over Passport's new leadership. "Kentucky's attorney general said Passport Health Services is a public agency and its records should be open for scrutiny. The state auditor agreed with that. And now a Jefferson Circuit Court judge has affirmed that same conclusion....
"Since this newspaper filed suit against Passport, which administers health services for the disadvantaged and disabled in 16 counties...much has happened to upset the comfortable little world in which the organization operated." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303170007)
Also from Thursday's editorial page, "We discuss the problems that arose when Passport Health Plan...got too insular and cozy. This is a day for remembering what happens when government forgets that it operates at the pleasure of and for the service of taxpayers — not like a private business." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303170006)
It's so much better to put out your own smoldering crisis than to let someone else do it for you publicly. Then it goes on and on. Communicators are in a good position to be the eyes and conscience of their employers. If you can't get your leaders' attention, tell them the Passport story.
an organization that provides Medicaid services for a group of counties in Kentucky.A state audit said the executive vice president and associate vice president received large salaries, ate in expensive restaurants, and traveled extensively. In addition, the report said Passport spent money inappropriately on lobbying and public relations and donated hundreds of thousands to causes that had nothing to do with health care. The two people alluded to above were fired, the governor ordered an investigation, and elected officials continue to look over the organization's shoulder.
I don't mean to beat this dead horse, but it's worth following this ongoing story because it teaches a valuable lesson about smoldering crises: Don't have them! If Passport had been more on the ball and anticipated an outcry against frivolous use of tax dollars, no one would have ever known. If management had voluntarily and quietly reduced top salaries, cut out meals at expensive restaurants, and quit jetting about for no good reason, there never would have been a state senator's call for an audit.
An editorial in Thursday's The Courier-Journal in Louisville triumphed in its court victory over Passport's new leadership. "Kentucky's attorney general said Passport Health Services is a public agency and its records should be open for scrutiny. The state auditor agreed with that. And now a Jefferson Circuit Court judge has affirmed that same conclusion....
"Since this newspaper filed suit against Passport, which administers health services for the disadvantaged and disabled in 16 counties...much has happened to upset the comfortable little world in which the organization operated." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303170007)
Also from Thursday's editorial page, "We discuss the problems that arose when Passport Health Plan...got too insular and cozy. This is a day for remembering what happens when government forgets that it operates at the pleasure of and for the service of taxpayers — not like a private business." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303170006)
It's so much better to put out your own smoldering crisis than to let someone else do it for you publicly. Then it goes on and on. Communicators are in a good position to be the eyes and conscience of their employers. If you can't get your leaders' attention, tell them the Passport story.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
What Happens if You Have Two or More Crises at the Same Time?
My friend in Dayton wrote,"Dan, I thought of you last week when the White House called a press conference to talk about the gas price crisis. Then, Japan happened! Suddenly, they were trying to deal with two crisis situations, instead of one. From my perspective, one issue sideswiped the other issue; thus the real issue, as defined by the WH, was not fully communicated. Here's a blog idea: how do organizations deal with two crises, particularly when one catches them off guard?"
Chuck, the White House would consider it a day off if there were only two crises. For businesses and nonprofits, something similar can easily happen, but fortunately, not usually daily. Often, one crisis leads to another. Take the BP oil spill, for example. The company had to deal with the explosion, rescuing survivors, looking for victims, communicating with loved ones, stopping the leak, mitigating the environmental damage and its effect on thousands of people, dealing with investigators.... Well, you get the idea. All these things happened simultaneously or in very short order. How well BP set priorities and handled the crisis are subject to debate.
Businesses can deal with simultaneous crises if they have a good crisis communications plan that hasn't been allowed to grow dusty on a shelf. BP's plan should have contained sections to tell it what to do in case of a platform fire, another on dealing with victims' families, another for responding to environmental crises, and so on. Each section would help reduce the panic and enable better decisions. One good decision, if the crisis team is spread too thinly, is to know in advance what contractors can be called in to help.
One such contractor has to be a crisis communications consultant. Even those who feel like they have the communications covered with a well-trained staff can find their ability to deliver messages to key stakeholders overwhelming. That's when they need to call someone like the Institute for Crisis Management (http://www.crisisexperts.com/). Phone numbers need to be lined up beforehand so people aren't wildly Googling "crisis communications" and employing someone whose credentials they never checked out.
By now, I'm sure the White House staff has all this figured out. But what about other organizations?
Chuck, the White House would consider it a day off if there were only two crises. For businesses and nonprofits, something similar can easily happen, but fortunately, not usually daily. Often, one crisis leads to another. Take the BP oil spill, for example. The company had to deal with the explosion, rescuing survivors, looking for victims, communicating with loved ones, stopping the leak, mitigating the environmental damage and its effect on thousands of people, dealing with investigators.... Well, you get the idea. All these things happened simultaneously or in very short order. How well BP set priorities and handled the crisis are subject to debate.
Businesses can deal with simultaneous crises if they have a good crisis communications plan that hasn't been allowed to grow dusty on a shelf. BP's plan should have contained sections to tell it what to do in case of a platform fire, another on dealing with victims' families, another for responding to environmental crises, and so on. Each section would help reduce the panic and enable better decisions. One good decision, if the crisis team is spread too thinly, is to know in advance what contractors can be called in to help.
One such contractor has to be a crisis communications consultant. Even those who feel like they have the communications covered with a well-trained staff can find their ability to deliver messages to key stakeholders overwhelming. That's when they need to call someone like the Institute for Crisis Management (http://www.crisisexperts.com/). Phone numbers need to be lined up beforehand so people aren't wildly Googling "crisis communications" and employing someone whose credentials they never checked out.
By now, I'm sure the White House staff has all this figured out. But what about other organizations?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Bullies Aren't Limited to the Schoolyard
Several days ago, I wrote about a misadvised "threat" derived from nonprofits critical of each other. A very involved fundraiser for the arts was embarassed and reprimanded by his board. He has been accused of similar chronic behavior.
I got a comment that can be read below on March 6. But I want to copy and paste it here because it's highly informative when we develop our crisis communications plans. I don't want readers to miss it.
Anonymous said...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying
Tim Field suggested that workplace bullying takes these forms:
Serial bullying — the source of all dysfunction can be traced to one individual, who picks on one employee after another and destroys them, then moves on. Probably the most common type of bullying.
Secondary bullying — the pressure of having to deal with a serial bully causes the general behaviour to decline and sink to the lowest level.
Pair bullying — this takes place with two people, one active and verbal, the other often watching and listening.
Gang bullying or group bullying — is a serial bully with colleagues. Gangs can occur anywhere, but flourish in corporate bullying climates. It is often called mobbing and usually involves scapegoating and victimisation.
Vicarious bullying — two parties are encouraged to fight. This is the typical "Triangulation" where the aggression gets passed around.
Regulation bullying — where a serial bully forces their target to comply with rules, regulations, procedures or laws regardless of their appropriateness, applicability or necessity.
Residual bullying — after the serial bully has left or been fired, the behavior continues. It can go on for years.
Legal bullying — the bringing of a vexatious legal action to control and punish a person. It is one of the nastiest forms of bullying.
Pressure bullying or unwitting bullying — having to work to unrealistic time scales and/or inadequate resources.
Corporate bullying — where an employer abuses an employee with impunity, knowing the law is weak and the job market is soft.
Organizational bullying — a combination of pressure bullying and corporate bullying. Occurs when an organization struggles to adapt to changing markets, reduced income, cuts in budgets, imposed expectations and other extreme pressures.
Institutional bullying — entrenched and is accepted as part of the culture.
Client bullying — an employee is bullied by those they serve, for instance subway attendants or public servants.
I got a comment that can be read below on March 6. But I want to copy and paste it here because it's highly informative when we develop our crisis communications plans. I don't want readers to miss it.
Anonymous said...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying
Tim Field suggested that workplace bullying takes these forms:
Serial bullying — the source of all dysfunction can be traced to one individual, who picks on one employee after another and destroys them, then moves on. Probably the most common type of bullying.
Secondary bullying — the pressure of having to deal with a serial bully causes the general behaviour to decline and sink to the lowest level.
Pair bullying — this takes place with two people, one active and verbal, the other often watching and listening.
Gang bullying or group bullying — is a serial bully with colleagues. Gangs can occur anywhere, but flourish in corporate bullying climates. It is often called mobbing and usually involves scapegoating and victimisation.
Vicarious bullying — two parties are encouraged to fight. This is the typical "Triangulation" where the aggression gets passed around.
Regulation bullying — where a serial bully forces their target to comply with rules, regulations, procedures or laws regardless of their appropriateness, applicability or necessity.
Residual bullying — after the serial bully has left or been fired, the behavior continues. It can go on for years.
Legal bullying — the bringing of a vexatious legal action to control and punish a person. It is one of the nastiest forms of bullying.
Pressure bullying or unwitting bullying — having to work to unrealistic time scales and/or inadequate resources.
Corporate bullying — where an employer abuses an employee with impunity, knowing the law is weak and the job market is soft.
Organizational bullying — a combination of pressure bullying and corporate bullying. Occurs when an organization struggles to adapt to changing markets, reduced income, cuts in budgets, imposed expectations and other extreme pressures.
Institutional bullying — entrenched and is accepted as part of the culture.
Client bullying — an employee is bullied by those they serve, for instance subway attendants or public servants.
Chemical Plant Exploson Rocks Massachusettes Community
"MIDDLETON, Mass. – Investigators working to determine the cause of a chemical plant explosion that shook a neighborhood and sent four people to the hospital were still waiting Monday for clearance from structural engineers to get into the building.
"The blast and fire happened Sunday night at Bostik Inc., which makes adhesives and sealants. The state fire marshal's office, other state agencies, local authorities and federal agencies are investigating, and officials are also talking to plant workers, Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_re_us/us_chemical_plant_explosion)
So what is Bostik saying? The last press release on the website was in January about an acquisition. (http://www.bostik-us.com/resource-center/press-and-media-relations/press-releases/default.html) The only media contacts shown both are in Marketing. (http://www.bostik-us.com/resource-center/press-and-media-relations/media-contacts/default.html)
Yet the plant manager and company general manager by Monday were available to answer questions. "An independent consultant has been testing air quality around Bostik Inc. on Boston Street based on the residents’ complaints, said Nat Weiner, the plant manager, at a news conference yesterday. He said no pollution has been found, and that the consultant continues to look into the complaints....
"Officials also said yesterday that they found no air quality concerns following the explosion, and no evidence of pollution from chemical runoff in the nearby Ipswich River....
"But the concerns over chemical pollution are likely to become part of a wide-ranging investigation by local, state, and federal officials....
“'That no one got seriously injured is a very good thing,' said Rich Dautilio, Bostik’s general manager." (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/15/odor_complaints_preceded_middleton_blast/)
I hope the company recognizes all its stakeholders, which extend well beyond reporters. The media are one of the less important audiences. The explosion shook homes for miles. Those affected people need to be talked to and reassured that when the plant reopens, it will operate safely. This is where I have found community advisory panels helpful. A representative group of neighbors and community leaders meets with the plant regularly, receive safety and environmental information, ask questions, and offer feedback on community concerns and priorities. I facilitate a multi-company group currently and have been involved with others in recent years. It's a communications tool to consider.
"The blast and fire happened Sunday night at Bostik Inc., which makes adhesives and sealants. The state fire marshal's office, other state agencies, local authorities and federal agencies are investigating, and officials are also talking to plant workers, Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_re_us/us_chemical_plant_explosion)
So what is Bostik saying? The last press release on the website was in January about an acquisition. (http://www.bostik-us.com/resource-center/press-and-media-relations/press-releases/default.html) The only media contacts shown both are in Marketing. (http://www.bostik-us.com/resource-center/press-and-media-relations/media-contacts/default.html)
Yet the plant manager and company general manager by Monday were available to answer questions. "An independent consultant has been testing air quality around Bostik Inc. on Boston Street based on the residents’ complaints, said Nat Weiner, the plant manager, at a news conference yesterday. He said no pollution has been found, and that the consultant continues to look into the complaints....
"Officials also said yesterday that they found no air quality concerns following the explosion, and no evidence of pollution from chemical runoff in the nearby Ipswich River....
"But the concerns over chemical pollution are likely to become part of a wide-ranging investigation by local, state, and federal officials....
“'That no one got seriously injured is a very good thing,' said Rich Dautilio, Bostik’s general manager." (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/15/odor_complaints_preceded_middleton_blast/)
I hope the company recognizes all its stakeholders, which extend well beyond reporters. The media are one of the less important audiences. The explosion shook homes for miles. Those affected people need to be talked to and reassured that when the plant reopens, it will operate safely. This is where I have found community advisory panels helpful. A representative group of neighbors and community leaders meets with the plant regularly, receive safety and environmental information, ask questions, and offer feedback on community concerns and priorities. I facilitate a multi-company group currently and have been involved with others in recent years. It's a communications tool to consider.
Bus Company Seems Mum on Horrific Accident
The World Wide Travel bus that crashed in New York on Sunday killing at least 15 seems to have a spotty past, depending on who you listen to. Putting the past aside, the present looks horrible.
"Enjoy a winter ride with World Wide!
"Happy 2011! The holidays have come and gone, but there's still plenty to do in both New York City and Boston. World Wide Bus will get you there!" (http://www.worldwidebus.com/index.php)
Not always! This is from World Wide's website, which has no mention of this tragedy: no news, no apology, no cause.
According to The New York News, "World Wide Travel was put on alert status after five violations were issued between December 2009 and last October, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website shows. The violations were issued in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey, the website says. The notation 'post crash violation' is listed on each citation online. (http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/12/2011-03-12_world_wide_travel_tour_bus_company_involved_in_bronx_crash_had_been_cited_for_nu.html)
And this from lohud.com: "The governor ordered an investigation Monday into how the driver of the bus that crashed Saturday on Interstate 95 near the Westchester County-Bronx border was able to hold a commercial driver's license while he had a criminal record.
"The bus driver, Ophadell Williams, 40, of Brooklyn, had served time for manslaughter and grand larceny." (http://www.lohud.com/article/20110315/NEWS01/103150333/0/SPORTS01/I-95-bus-crash-Driver-did-time-90-manslaughter?odyssey=nav%7Chead)
There are other perspectives. "World Wide Travel of Greater New York operates 13 buses with 75 drivers, according to the data. Forty-three random safety inspections over the past 24 months have found just one violation. That includes both driver and vehicle inspections. The company had one bus pulled off the road out of 16 vehicle inspections–6.2 percent–for a violation so serious it amounted to an immediate hazard. The national average is substantially higher – at 20.7 percent of inspections failed." (http://transportationnation.org/2011/03/14/ny-bus-crash-world-wide-travel-safety-record-not-so-bad/)
Better than average or poor record aside, the threat to World Wide is the same. The company so far isn't speaking for itself. Witnesses say the bus was swerving before it crashed, but the driver's story was it was clipped by a tractor-trailer. On its website, there's no word of an internal investigation, cooperation with outside investigations, or suspension of the driver. This is inexcusable. People died and loved ones are grieving. Don't let this be you and your organization. It shouldn't' be if you have an effective crisis communications plan that everyone buys into and practices.
"Enjoy a winter ride with World Wide!
"Happy 2011! The holidays have come and gone, but there's still plenty to do in both New York City and Boston. World Wide Bus will get you there!" (http://www.worldwidebus.com/index.php)
Not always! This is from World Wide's website, which has no mention of this tragedy: no news, no apology, no cause.
According to The New York News, "World Wide Travel was put on alert status after five violations were issued between December 2009 and last October, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website shows. The violations were issued in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey, the website says. The notation 'post crash violation' is listed on each citation online. (http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/12/2011-03-12_world_wide_travel_tour_bus_company_involved_in_bronx_crash_had_been_cited_for_nu.html)
And this from lohud.com: "The governor ordered an investigation Monday into how the driver of the bus that crashed Saturday on Interstate 95 near the Westchester County-Bronx border was able to hold a commercial driver's license while he had a criminal record.
"The bus driver, Ophadell Williams, 40, of Brooklyn, had served time for manslaughter and grand larceny." (http://www.lohud.com/article/20110315/NEWS01/103150333/0/SPORTS01/I-95-bus-crash-Driver-did-time-90-manslaughter?odyssey=nav%7Chead)
There are other perspectives. "World Wide Travel of Greater New York operates 13 buses with 75 drivers, according to the data. Forty-three random safety inspections over the past 24 months have found just one violation. That includes both driver and vehicle inspections. The company had one bus pulled off the road out of 16 vehicle inspections–6.2 percent–for a violation so serious it amounted to an immediate hazard. The national average is substantially higher – at 20.7 percent of inspections failed." (http://transportationnation.org/2011/03/14/ny-bus-crash-world-wide-travel-safety-record-not-so-bad/)
Better than average or poor record aside, the threat to World Wide is the same. The company so far isn't speaking for itself. Witnesses say the bus was swerving before it crashed, but the driver's story was it was clipped by a tractor-trailer. On its website, there's no word of an internal investigation, cooperation with outside investigations, or suspension of the driver. This is inexcusable. People died and loved ones are grieving. Don't let this be you and your organization. It shouldn't' be if you have an effective crisis communications plan that everyone buys into and practices.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Emotions Are Okay -- Unless You Are Dealing Directly With a Crisis
When you are a crisis communicator, you need to eliminate emotions so that you can deal with the human disaster. At the current time, I don't have a client in Japan working with the human disaster or the business impact of the quake and tsunami.
Therefore, I can respond to what's happening in Japan as a human being instead of as a communications consultant. As a crisis consultant, I would be dealing with the crisis. Instead. as a bystander, I watch the news and weep like a baby. I think that's okay. There's nothing wrong with caring for our fellow man -- or more important for me, with all those little kids who have died and are suffering.
If I had a current client in Japan, I would suspend emotion to deal with the crisis. Without a client there currently, I have no shame in weeping for all those children and others. Please say a prayer.
And if you have facilities in Japan and need some help, call. I'll suspend my emotions temporarily. Meantime, I'll wipe my tears for those Japanese people.
Therefore, I can respond to what's happening in Japan as a human being instead of as a communications consultant. As a crisis consultant, I would be dealing with the crisis. Instead. as a bystander, I watch the news and weep like a baby. I think that's okay. There's nothing wrong with caring for our fellow man -- or more important for me, with all those little kids who have died and are suffering.
If I had a current client in Japan, I would suspend emotion to deal with the crisis. Without a client there currently, I have no shame in weeping for all those children and others. Please say a prayer.
And if you have facilities in Japan and need some help, call. I'll suspend my emotions temporarily. Meantime, I'll wipe my tears for those Japanese people.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
"Hey Wisconsin! You Have Won!"
Why can't we just get along?
I like to think of myself as a political moderate. I feel like I'm socially to the left and fiscally to the right. A pendulum swings to the left, then it swings to the right. FOX News and owner Rupert Murdoch sometimes get it right. But Rachel Maddow on MSNBC tonight has it right -- or left. "It's not about the budget." Look at the crises in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and even where I live, in Kentucky.
She claims that state government is using budget as an excuse to impose social issues. Legislators in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and other states are looking to impose family planning and breast cancer screenings and prostate cancer screenings and K-12 education and gay marriage on the public. "It's not about the budget." You need to see Rachel Maddow's tirade on MSNBC. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908#41979418)
Tell me what you think. Is Maddow right or wrong? "This is about a lot of things. This is not about a budget. This is about using or fabricating crisis, to push for an agenda you would never be able to sell under normal circumstances."
I like to think of myself as a political moderate. I feel like I'm socially to the left and fiscally to the right. A pendulum swings to the left, then it swings to the right. FOX News and owner Rupert Murdoch sometimes get it right. But Rachel Maddow on MSNBC tonight has it right -- or left. "It's not about the budget." Look at the crises in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and even where I live, in Kentucky.
She claims that state government is using budget as an excuse to impose social issues. Legislators in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and other states are looking to impose family planning and breast cancer screenings and prostate cancer screenings and K-12 education and gay marriage on the public. "It's not about the budget." You need to see Rachel Maddow's tirade on MSNBC. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908#41979418)
Tell me what you think. Is Maddow right or wrong? "This is about a lot of things. This is not about a budget. This is about using or fabricating crisis, to push for an agenda you would never be able to sell under normal circumstances."
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Stop and Think Before You Draw Your Weapon
During a crisis, it's smart to step back, take a deep breath, and then respond. Crises are no time for knee-jerk responses. Having a crisis plan helps you avoid responding inappropriately.
For example, a friend of mine understands her instinct to go off when something is wrong. I called her today to discuss a Louisville metro councilwoman's alleged ethical and criminal indiscretions. (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303060037) I suggested our business association might want to take a stand. My community activist friend knows herself. She said she would read the newspaper article, allow herself to cool down, and then see what steps we might take to weigh in on this woman's political future. Smart.
Also in today's The Courier-Journal in Louisville is an article about Allan Cowen, Fund for the Arts CEO. This non-profit works like the United Way for arts programs.
"The Fund for the Arts' governing board said Saturday that it has taken 'appropriate personnel action' against President and CEO Allan Cowen for a voice mail Cowen left telling the director of the Louisville Visual Art Association he should be discharged.
"In a statement, the executive committee of the fund's board of directors said Cowen's actions were 'wrong, inexcusable and showed a severe lack of judgment.' Cowen has been under fire for leaving a voice mail for Shannon Westerman saying, 'I think you should be discharged from your position at LVAA' after Westerman wrote a letter to the editor of Business First challenging the Fund for the Arts' operation."
Westerman's letter to Business First, which was also signed by two other people, suggested that while public support of the Fund for the Arts is key to ensuring the vitality of the arts in Louisville, many visual and cultural groups that receive little or no money from the organization also are important.
"On Feb. 12 — the day after the letter appeared — Cowen left Westerman a voice message on his mobile phone. In addition to telling Westerman he should be fired, Cowen told Westerman he was 'way out of line.'
“'Do me a favor,' he continued. 'Please skip calling me back.... We will move forward. I think you have gone way beyond the light fantastic. Good luck in your future career....'
"Cowen has said he was 'extremely apologetic' about the call and for any embarrassment it caused the Fund for the Arts."
(http://www.dnj.com/article/B2/20110305/NEWS01/303050075/Fund-for-the-Arts-board-rebukes-CEO-Allan-Cowen-for-voice-mail)
I know Allan. He is a smart guy. But his hasty response to a negative comment is costing him and his organization. When you or your organization is criticized, step back, take a deep breath, and decide how your stakeholders will react to your message. My friend in the metro councilwoman case understands this. Cowen, a great guy leading a wonderful service, doesn't and is the target of negativity in today's news: "Cowen's tactless $345,000 salary is questionable in light of member agencies failing and community donors being ostracized for speaking up about the decision-making process." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110306/OPINION02/303060024/Reader-Letter-Outdated-neglect-small-arts-groups?odyssey=navhead)
Before you fire, pause and think. How will the shot make your organization look?
For example, a friend of mine understands her instinct to go off when something is wrong. I called her today to discuss a Louisville metro councilwoman's alleged ethical and criminal indiscretions. (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303060037) I suggested our business association might want to take a stand. My community activist friend knows herself. She said she would read the newspaper article, allow herself to cool down, and then see what steps we might take to weigh in on this woman's political future. Smart.
Also in today's The Courier-Journal in Louisville is an article about Allan Cowen, Fund for the Arts CEO. This non-profit works like the United Way for arts programs.
"The Fund for the Arts' governing board said Saturday that it has taken 'appropriate personnel action' against President and CEO Allan Cowen for a voice mail Cowen left telling the director of the Louisville Visual Art Association he should be discharged.
"In a statement, the executive committee of the fund's board of directors said Cowen's actions were 'wrong, inexcusable and showed a severe lack of judgment.' Cowen has been under fire for leaving a voice mail for Shannon Westerman saying, 'I think you should be discharged from your position at LVAA' after Westerman wrote a letter to the editor of Business First challenging the Fund for the Arts' operation."
Westerman's letter to Business First, which was also signed by two other people, suggested that while public support of the Fund for the Arts is key to ensuring the vitality of the arts in Louisville, many visual and cultural groups that receive little or no money from the organization also are important.
"On Feb. 12 — the day after the letter appeared — Cowen left Westerman a voice message on his mobile phone. In addition to telling Westerman he should be fired, Cowen told Westerman he was 'way out of line.'
“'Do me a favor,' he continued. 'Please skip calling me back.... We will move forward. I think you have gone way beyond the light fantastic. Good luck in your future career....'
"Cowen has said he was 'extremely apologetic' about the call and for any embarrassment it caused the Fund for the Arts."
(http://www.dnj.com/article/B2/20110305/NEWS01/303050075/Fund-for-the-Arts-board-rebukes-CEO-Allan-Cowen-for-voice-mail)
I know Allan. He is a smart guy. But his hasty response to a negative comment is costing him and his organization. When you or your organization is criticized, step back, take a deep breath, and decide how your stakeholders will react to your message. My friend in the metro councilwoman case understands this. Cowen, a great guy leading a wonderful service, doesn't and is the target of negativity in today's news: "Cowen's tactless $345,000 salary is questionable in light of member agencies failing and community donors being ostracized for speaking up about the decision-making process." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110306/OPINION02/303060024/Reader-Letter-Outdated-neglect-small-arts-groups?odyssey=navhead)
Before you fire, pause and think. How will the shot make your organization look?
Saturday, March 5, 2011
High School Basketball Fans Weren't Singing in the Rain
You can abuse the elderly. You can ban fireworks. (See below.) But in Kentucky, you don't mess with basketball.
"More than 1,000 fans were left standing in the rain -- including about 200 that already had tickets -- by tournament officials because the gym was already full.
"'It was sad,' Eastern junior Jacob Walker said. 'We go to almost every game. Even parents of players were turned away.'
"The gym was packed for much of the day, but tempers escalated near the start of the final game -- Eastern-Ballard -- when fans outside realized they would not get in. Fans banged on all six of the doors at the front of Knights Hall (Bellarmine College) when security called for backup. Seven police cars were dispatched to the scene."
The Instittute for Crisis Management insists that at least two-thirds of all crises can be prevented. This is one of them.
"Jefferson County Public Schools director of athletics Jerry Wyman said tickets went on sale at 2:30 p.m. in the Knights Hall ticket booth. Officials stopped selling about an hour later after reaching 3,000. Knights Hall has a capacity of 2,800.... The doors were closed during the first game -- a Sixth Region semifinal between Pleasure Ridge Park and Butler -- but Wyman said 900 fans left after that game.
"The doors were closed again, according to Wyman, in the second game between Western and Bullitt East. Seneca and Jeffersontown played the third game before the nightcap between No. 1 Eastern and No. 2 Ballard.
"'We didn't let anybody in the entire third game,' Wyman said."
Whoa! More than 1,000 people were left in the rain, 200 seats were sold that didn't exist, and 900 people left after the first playoff game? My dad was a math teacher and I can just hear him say, "That doesn't add up."
Whether it adds up or not, this crisis could have been avoided. They had 1,000 people trying to get into a gym for hours that holds 2,800 people? We probably all have been there done that. But learn from your mistakes. Learn from others' mistakes. Then avoid repeating them.
"More than 1,000 fans were left standing in the rain -- including about 200 that already had tickets -- by tournament officials because the gym was already full.
"'It was sad,' Eastern junior Jacob Walker said. 'We go to almost every game. Even parents of players were turned away.'
"The gym was packed for much of the day, but tempers escalated near the start of the final game -- Eastern-Ballard -- when fans outside realized they would not get in. Fans banged on all six of the doors at the front of Knights Hall (Bellarmine College) when security called for backup. Seven police cars were dispatched to the scene."
The Instittute for Crisis Management insists that at least two-thirds of all crises can be prevented. This is one of them.
"Jefferson County Public Schools director of athletics Jerry Wyman said tickets went on sale at 2:30 p.m. in the Knights Hall ticket booth. Officials stopped selling about an hour later after reaching 3,000. Knights Hall has a capacity of 2,800.... The doors were closed during the first game -- a Sixth Region semifinal between Pleasure Ridge Park and Butler -- but Wyman said 900 fans left after that game.
"The doors were closed again, according to Wyman, in the second game between Western and Bullitt East. Seneca and Jeffersontown played the third game before the nightcap between No. 1 Eastern and No. 2 Ballard.
"'We didn't let anybody in the entire third game,' Wyman said."
Whoa! More than 1,000 people were left in the rain, 200 seats were sold that didn't exist, and 900 people left after the first playoff game? My dad was a math teacher and I can just hear him say, "That doesn't add up."
Whether it adds up or not, this crisis could have been avoided. They had 1,000 people trying to get into a gym for hours that holds 2,800 people? We probably all have been there done that. But learn from your mistakes. Learn from others' mistakes. Then avoid repeating them.
Finally! We Can Launch Fireworks in Kentucky While Abusing Seniors
Like 49 other states, Kentucky faces critical financial challenges. I'm glad to report that here in Kentucky, the legislature is meeting those challenges head-on.
"The Senate passed a bill Friday to legalize fireworks that have been banned in Kentucky for decades.... Currently, fireworks that explode or shoot into the air are illegal in Kentucky unless used by a professional licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That has been the law since at least 1982." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303040069)
Sometimes the organizations we work with lose vision, just as the Kentucky legislature has. What should we be spending our time and energy on? Here's an idea: crisis communications planning. Fiscal responsibility. Acting in the best interest of stakeholders.
Meanwhile, a bill to create a registry of those who abuse adults is stuck in the state Senate.
"The Senate passed a bill Friday to legalize fireworks that have been banned in Kentucky for decades.... Currently, fireworks that explode or shoot into the air are illegal in Kentucky unless used by a professional licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That has been the law since at least 1982." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303040069)
Sometimes the organizations we work with lose vision, just as the Kentucky legislature has. What should we be spending our time and energy on? Here's an idea: crisis communications planning. Fiscal responsibility. Acting in the best interest of stakeholders.
Meanwhile, a bill to create a registry of those who abuse adults is stuck in the state Senate.
The Sheen Is Gone From Charlie
I said it once (below) and I'll say it again. I wish Charlie Sheen would hire us to advise him on crisis communications. What a profit! I would charge him for two simple words. "Shut up!"
Have you caught any of his recent interviews? He takes no responsibility for hookers and drugs. It's just good times, he has said on virtually every TV network who cares to have him on. The last I saw was CNN last night. Yeah, I just have to watch. It's like staring at a car wreck as you pass by. You can't help yourself.
Why do we care about Charlie? Because he is illustrating why we shouldn't be defensive when our organizations mess up. We look a lot better if we simply take responsibility for our mistakes. No excuses. Guilt or innocence makes no difference to our stakeholders. Confess. Get off the interview circuit. And move on.
Have you caught any of his recent interviews? He takes no responsibility for hookers and drugs. It's just good times, he has said on virtually every TV network who cares to have him on. The last I saw was CNN last night. Yeah, I just have to watch. It's like staring at a car wreck as you pass by. You can't help yourself.
Why do we care about Charlie? Because he is illustrating why we shouldn't be defensive when our organizations mess up. We look a lot better if we simply take responsibility for our mistakes. No excuses. Guilt or innocence makes no difference to our stakeholders. Confess. Get off the interview circuit. And move on.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Massey Employee Arrested; Crisis Aftershocks Go On and On and...
I've written on this blog extensively about crisis aftershocks. Sometimes, your crisis doesn't fade away but stays in front of your stakeholders for a long time.
Massey Energy is in the news again. That company is one of my favorites to blog about because it has done such a horrible job of managing its crises. This is the company that, last April, suffered an explosion that killed 29 of its coal miners, the worst mine disaster since 1970. Nearly a year later, the aftershocks go on.
"On Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Southern West Virginia District office in Charleston
announced the arrest of 60 year-old Hughie Elbert Stover. Stover is the security chief for the Massey Energy subsidiary that operated Upper Big Branch (where all those miners were killed).
"Stover is accused of lying to an FBI agent and a federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) investigator. According to a federal indictment, Stover directed and trained security guards at the UBB mine to give advance notice by announcing the presence of MSHA inspectors over a separate radio channel. The indictment also charges Stover with intentionally impeding the investigation by participating in the disposal of thousands of Security documents stored near the Raleigh County mine." (http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=19171)
This same West Virginia Public Broadcasting site goes on to say that Massey issued a statement. That's a departure from the past, when the CEO threatened to shoot a TV news team if it didn't leave Massey's parking lot. "Massey says it is cooperating with federal investigators and 'the company notified the U.S. Attorney’s office within hours of learning that documents had been disposed of and took immediate steps to recover documents and turn them over to the U.S. Attorney’s office.'"
So what? Massey shut the barn door after the horses escaped.
Massey and its retired CEO, Don Blankenship, have a lengthy history of violations, fines, and questionable business practices. Stover is just the first to be charged and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia continues to investigate the explosion.
What happens to companies like Massey that operate unscrupulously? "Coal giant Massey Energy, losing money and facing a criminal investigation following the deaths of 29 miners at its Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, announced Saturday (January 29) that it is being acquired by rival Alpha Natural Resources in an $8.5 billion deal." (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11030/1121722-455.stm)
That same article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette went on to repeat the ugly history of Massey and Blankenship. Aftershocks. "Alpha's offer is welcome news to Massey shareholders, who saw their stock plummet below $27 in July.... Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship, besieged by regulators, investors and union leaders, retired at the end of the year from a tenure marked by high-profile controversy. Under Mr. Blankenship's rule, Massey became a prominent opponent of unions and was the target of widespread criticism over safety practices.
"Facing intense pressure from investors over its safety record and Mr. Blankenship's domination of the company, Massey adopted some governance changes last year, but continued its aggressive stance in the media regarding its safety record and the probe of the explosion. The firm has a long history of violations....
"In his tenure at Massey, Mr. Blankenship bankrolled the candidacy of a West Virginia supreme court judge who would be in a position to rule in a civil suit involving the company. He later bankrolled a number of candidates in a failed attempt to gain influence in the state legislature...."
"Kentucky-based mine safety attorney Tony Oppegard, a former official at MSHA, said Massey did itself no favors in its obstinate public relations strategy after the Upper Big Branch explosion, and the company's poor public image likely led to its sale. But the company had a long history of noncompliant mines and a belligerent attitude toward government regulations."
How would you like to handle crisis communications, public relations, or media relations for this company? It remains to be seen if Alpha will change the culture of Massey. "'I think it's fair to say that Alpha's safety record is better than Massey's,' Mr. Oppegard said. 'That's not to sing Alpha's praises, it's to say Massey has a bad reputation. I guess all you can do if you're a miner or safety advocate is wait and see how Alpha does and hope that they place a higher emphasis on safety than Massey did.'"
Yeah, I'll be watching. The sale to Alpha is expected to close the middle of this year.
Massey Energy is in the news again. That company is one of my favorites to blog about because it has done such a horrible job of managing its crises. This is the company that, last April, suffered an explosion that killed 29 of its coal miners, the worst mine disaster since 1970. Nearly a year later, the aftershocks go on.
"On Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Southern West Virginia District office in Charleston
announced the arrest of 60 year-old Hughie Elbert Stover. Stover is the security chief for the Massey Energy subsidiary that operated Upper Big Branch (where all those miners were killed)."Stover is accused of lying to an FBI agent and a federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) investigator. According to a federal indictment, Stover directed and trained security guards at the UBB mine to give advance notice by announcing the presence of MSHA inspectors over a separate radio channel. The indictment also charges Stover with intentionally impeding the investigation by participating in the disposal of thousands of Security documents stored near the Raleigh County mine." (http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=19171)
This same West Virginia Public Broadcasting site goes on to say that Massey issued a statement. That's a departure from the past, when the CEO threatened to shoot a TV news team if it didn't leave Massey's parking lot. "Massey says it is cooperating with federal investigators and 'the company notified the U.S. Attorney’s office within hours of learning that documents had been disposed of and took immediate steps to recover documents and turn them over to the U.S. Attorney’s office.'"
So what? Massey shut the barn door after the horses escaped.
Massey and its retired CEO, Don Blankenship, have a lengthy history of violations, fines, and questionable business practices. Stover is just the first to be charged and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia continues to investigate the explosion.
What happens to companies like Massey that operate unscrupulously? "Coal giant Massey Energy, losing money and facing a criminal investigation following the deaths of 29 miners at its Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, announced Saturday (January 29) that it is being acquired by rival Alpha Natural Resources in an $8.5 billion deal." (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11030/1121722-455.stm)
That same article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette went on to repeat the ugly history of Massey and Blankenship. Aftershocks. "Alpha's offer is welcome news to Massey shareholders, who saw their stock plummet below $27 in July.... Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship, besieged by regulators, investors and union leaders, retired at the end of the year from a tenure marked by high-profile controversy. Under Mr. Blankenship's rule, Massey became a prominent opponent of unions and was the target of widespread criticism over safety practices.
"Facing intense pressure from investors over its safety record and Mr. Blankenship's domination of the company, Massey adopted some governance changes last year, but continued its aggressive stance in the media regarding its safety record and the probe of the explosion. The firm has a long history of violations....
"In his tenure at Massey, Mr. Blankenship bankrolled the candidacy of a West Virginia supreme court judge who would be in a position to rule in a civil suit involving the company. He later bankrolled a number of candidates in a failed attempt to gain influence in the state legislature...."
"Kentucky-based mine safety attorney Tony Oppegard, a former official at MSHA, said Massey did itself no favors in its obstinate public relations strategy after the Upper Big Branch explosion, and the company's poor public image likely led to its sale. But the company had a long history of noncompliant mines and a belligerent attitude toward government regulations."
How would you like to handle crisis communications, public relations, or media relations for this company? It remains to be seen if Alpha will change the culture of Massey. "'I think it's fair to say that Alpha's safety record is better than Massey's,' Mr. Oppegard said. 'That's not to sing Alpha's praises, it's to say Massey has a bad reputation. I guess all you can do if you're a miner or safety advocate is wait and see how Alpha does and hope that they place a higher emphasis on safety than Massey did.'"
Yeah, I'll be watching. The sale to Alpha is expected to close the middle of this year.
Without a Plan, Businesses Can Mess Up as Badly as These Two Stars Have
I have some sort of lung infection and violent cough that have left me virtually speechless. I cancelled vacation to visit family to the north for fear of being infectious. However, if I could, I would love to breathe on Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan in hope of giving them my laryngitis. Both have careers and large potential earnings that are in crisis.
Take Charlie Sheen. Please! I used to enjoy his show and thought he was cool and funny. And Hot Shots I and II represent my kind of humor. That's Charlie the actor. Charlie the person is far different. If you've seen any of the recent interviews with him, you've seen a raving, out-of-control "former" addict, waving his arms wildly, making strange comments with a tuft of hair uncharacteristically out of place across his forehead.
One interview on ABC's Good Morning America is a good example. "Wow, what's the cure? Medicine?" he responded to a question of being bipolar. "Make me like them? I'm bi-winning. I win here, I win there, then what? If I'm bipolar, aren't there times when a guy crashes, (faking crying) laying in a corner saying my God, it's all my mom's fault. Shut up. Shut up. Stop. Move forward."
He was asked if he was worried about a relapse. "No. Because I'm not going to. Period. The end. I blinked and I cured my brain, that's how. Everybody has the power to do it. Can't is the cancer of happen. Can't is the cancer of happen. I can't do it. The Nike slogan isn't just try it."
Then he was asked if he was disgusted with himself when he looks back at his last drug episode with a prostitute in a hotel room. "No, I'm proud of what I created. It was radical.... I expose people to magic. I expose them to something they're never going to see in their normal, boring lives.... And that's a gift, man." See the interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5aSa4tmVNM.
Does this sound like a man who understands his problem? Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers outfielder and Most Valuable Player in the American League last season, was out of baseball several years ago. He had a drug addiction that devoured his life. He's clean now. But he has a chaperon whenever he goes out to eat and is only allowed to carry a limited amount of cash. That's how strong the lure of drug addiction can be. He has been able to solve his personal crisis and now makes millions. And Charlie Sheen? I'm not convinced.
Then take Lindsay Lohan, ex-convict, addict, and alleged thief. She's had numerous chances to turn her life around, and so far hasn't. Could this be her moment? Her interview with Jerry Penacoli on Extra is the only one she has done since leaving rehab. It airs this week. Among her comments will be:
”I need to prove that I can be insurable again, because I don’t think I am right now.”
“I’m focusing on the one thing I need to put first in my life, which is my recovery and stuff. I’m doing good and that’s most important for me.” (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/03/lindsay-lohan-tells-extra-im-putting-recovery-first.html)
Lohan has pleaded not guilty to felony grand theft. She is accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace, but claims the store's owner told her she could take it. "Judge Keith Schwartz told the troubled starlet, 'You need to follow the laws just like everybody else. Look around this room. Everybody needs to follow the law. You're no different than anyone else, so please don't push your luck.' He went on to say the circumstances in this case are different from her original DUI case, since it now involves a felony." (http://extratv.warnerbros.com/celebrity_highlights/lindsay_lohan/)
I can safely say most of you will not be stars like Sheen and Lohan. But you may have your 15 minutes of fame when a crisis strikes your organization. Will you put on a performance like Lindsay Lohan, or will you say, "What explosion?" like Charlie Sheen? This is why it's critical that you have a crisis communications plan that contains holding statements for the first few moments and messages and key audiences for ongoing communications. If you need help getting started, try http://www.crisisexperts.com/prepare_main.htm.
Take Charlie Sheen. Please! I used to enjoy his show and thought he was cool and funny. And Hot Shots I and II represent my kind of humor. That's Charlie the actor. Charlie the person is far different. If you've seen any of the recent interviews with him, you've seen a raving, out-of-control "former" addict, waving his arms wildly, making strange comments with a tuft of hair uncharacteristically out of place across his forehead.One interview on ABC's Good Morning America is a good example. "Wow, what's the cure? Medicine?" he responded to a question of being bipolar. "Make me like them? I'm bi-winning. I win here, I win there, then what? If I'm bipolar, aren't there times when a guy crashes, (faking crying) laying in a corner saying my God, it's all my mom's fault. Shut up. Shut up. Stop. Move forward."
He was asked if he was worried about a relapse. "No. Because I'm not going to. Period. The end. I blinked and I cured my brain, that's how. Everybody has the power to do it. Can't is the cancer of happen. Can't is the cancer of happen. I can't do it. The Nike slogan isn't just try it."
Then he was asked if he was disgusted with himself when he looks back at his last drug episode with a prostitute in a hotel room. "No, I'm proud of what I created. It was radical.... I expose people to magic. I expose them to something they're never going to see in their normal, boring lives.... And that's a gift, man." See the interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5aSa4tmVNM.
Does this sound like a man who understands his problem? Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers outfielder and Most Valuable Player in the American League last season, was out of baseball several years ago. He had a drug addiction that devoured his life. He's clean now. But he has a chaperon whenever he goes out to eat and is only allowed to carry a limited amount of cash. That's how strong the lure of drug addiction can be. He has been able to solve his personal crisis and now makes millions. And Charlie Sheen? I'm not convinced.
Then take Lindsay Lohan, ex-convict, addict, and alleged thief. She's had numerous chances to turn her life around, and so far hasn't. Could this be her moment? Her interview with Jerry Penacoli on Extra is the only one she has done since leaving rehab. It airs this week. Among her comments will be:
”I need to prove that I can be insurable again, because I don’t think I am right now.”
“I’m focusing on the one thing I need to put first in my life, which is my recovery and stuff. I’m doing good and that’s most important for me.” (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/03/lindsay-lohan-tells-extra-im-putting-recovery-first.html)
Lohan has pleaded not guilty to felony grand theft. She is accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace, but claims the store's owner told her she could take it. "Judge Keith Schwartz told the troubled starlet, 'You need to follow the laws just like everybody else. Look around this room. Everybody needs to follow the law. You're no different than anyone else, so please don't push your luck.' He went on to say the circumstances in this case are different from her original DUI case, since it now involves a felony." (http://extratv.warnerbros.com/celebrity_highlights/lindsay_lohan/)
I can safely say most of you will not be stars like Sheen and Lohan. But you may have your 15 minutes of fame when a crisis strikes your organization. Will you put on a performance like Lindsay Lohan, or will you say, "What explosion?" like Charlie Sheen? This is why it's critical that you have a crisis communications plan that contains holding statements for the first few moments and messages and key audiences for ongoing communications. If you need help getting started, try http://www.crisisexperts.com/prepare_main.htm.
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