Communicating Through a Crisis

Companies Communicate After Construction Site Collapse

2012-01-28T12:44:00.000-05:00

A floor at a casino construction site in downtown Cincinnati collapsed yesterday. No one was below, but workers on the floor rode it down until it hit bottom. One is seriously injured, 12 more have been treated. Both developer Rock Gaming and Messer Construction seem to be communicating well enough with the news media to deserve some study. They must have been prepared for a crisis like this one.

Rock Gaming's website (http://www.rockcompanies.com/gaming.htm), as of today, doesn't have mention of the accident. It should at least have a statement of condolences and next steps. The Detroit-based company should have been prepared because a similar accident happened at one of its sites in Cleveland. But at least a spokesperson was available to comment, which I don't see much of these days.

Steve Rosenthal of Rock Gaming spoke at a news conference after the collapse and described what happened. He added it was too early to determine a cause.

Messer Construction of Cincinnati has been much more forthcoming. Spokeswoman Jessie Folmar said the company was investigating. Messer provided a well-done seven-paragraph statement on its website rather quickly, which was picked up on and quoted by reporters. (http://messer.com/news/2012/01/27/statement_from_messer_construction_regarding_cincinnati_site_accident) Issued under the name of Tom Keckeis, president and CEO, it contains the elements of a good crisis statement.

Paragraph 1 expresses sympathy for the injured employees and thanks emergency responders.

Paragraph 2 explains that OSHA and others inside and outside Messer and Rock Gaming are working together to identify a cause.

Paragraph 3 says, "Our top priority is to ensure everyone at our jobsites can return home safely to their families at the end of each day. We have stringent safety processes and protocols in place to ensure our jobsites remain safe and our structures secure."

I'm not a big advocate for Paragraph 4, but others may disagree with me. It describes the company's safety record and successful OSHA inspections. My feeling is that the company just sent 13 people to hospitals and an upper floor is now the bottom one. Talk about your safety record later. This is like me being taken off in handcuffs while boasting that I only beat my wife once.

Paragraphs 5, 6, and 7 say, "The work taking place today was in accordance with a project schedule that has been in place for several months, and which has had the full support of all contractors involved.

"We will share additional information as it becomes available.

"We are committed to completing this project safely."

I think it's nicely done and has the elements that such a statement should have.

Eastern Kentucky Pill Mill Shut Down

2012-01-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

The Care More Medical Management clinic I wrote about recently below is boarded up. Thank goodness! It's been raided twice and many have been arrested.

"Paintsville Mayor Bob Porter said Friday that he revoked the clinic’s license after deciding it was a 'public nuisance' because of the 'large amount of criminal activity and undesirable people in and around the business.'” (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012301270084)

This is one of those crises that could never have been averted with a good crisis communications plan. The activities of the owners, doctors, and clients led to the inevitable demise of the clinic. Remember that you have to do the right thing before you can ever hope to communicate anything credibly.

Author Kip Richeal Pays Tribute to the Joe Paterno He Knew

2012-01-27T11:54:00.000-05:00

This post isn't as much about crises as it is an I-told-you-so.

I've written several times about the Penn State/Joe Paterno crisis. I couldn't get anyone outside of Franco Harris to agree that Paterno was unjustly fired. Now that he has died, all the world is behind him and blaming the board of trustees for his sudden decline. Paterno deserved better.

My friend Mark posted a piece on Facebook written by Kip Richeal. Kip is the younger brother of a schoolfriend of mine. He has written several books, including one on my shelf about the Pittsburgh Pirates and another he autographed for my inlaws about Jerry Sandusky ironically called Touched. He once was honorary batboy for the Pirates and I, a sportswriter, went with him and watched the game from the dugout. I had a long visit with the late Manager Chuck Tanner I'll never forget.

But I digress. I didn't mention that Kip is physically handicapped. As a writer -- no handicaps there. I thought his tribute to Joe Paterno was worth sharing with my readers here.

"I was a senior in high school the first time I ever visited the Penn State University campus. My parents took me to State College to meet Coach Bob Phillips, the quarterbacks coach for the Nittany Lions who had heard how badly I wanted to be an equipment manager there. l had already been accepted as a student, so now it was time to reach my other goal.

"My dad and I had a nice chat with Coach Bob and he treated me as though I were a recruit making my official visit. He talked about when he coached high school football in Beaver County at one time. He told me things about Penn State football that I already knew from just being a fan, but it was even better hearing it from one of the coaches. He interrupted our meeting to ask if we would like to meet Coach Paterno and it was at that moment the future all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I history stepped into the offices inside the old Rec Hall gymnasium.

"Joe Paterno shook our hands and it was my dad who was speechless in his presence. Coach Bob told him I was an incoming freshman and was hoping to be a manager with the team in the fall. Coach Paterno shook my hand again and said right there he would look forward to having me with the team.

"With a lot of high profile people those words would just be smoke, but with Joe Paterno they were sincere. Coach knew every player's name, but out on the practice field when he needed something from the equipment staff, it was usually 'Manager!!!' that was heard all over the practice area. With me, however, he always called me Kipper. Halfway through college I had a hip replacement so I missed some time away from the team. Joe Paterno called me at home at least three or four times during my rehab to see how things were going. And he told me my position as a manager would be there when I came back.

"Years later he agreed to write the foreword for one of my books and he was always cordial to my family, often referring to my dad as 'the old guy.' Even up to this, his unscheduled final season, Coach would see me on the sidelines before a game and make a point to shake hands and offer a hug. He would call me Kipper, ask about the family and how my life was going. I will miss those short, but powerful exchanges with the man who was like a second father to all involved with Penn State football.

"Cancer will be listed as the cause of his passing, but I believe it was also a tired and fractured heart that wore him down when the thing he loved more than anything other than his family was taken away from him. I grew up in a hurry when I went to Penn State and I became a man because of the values I learned from our football coach. Joe Paterno was more than an icon to me. He was my coach and a dear friend. No one will ever tear down my memories of him. No coach will ever replace him as a genius football mind as well as a mentor, educator and friend. God Bless your soul, Coach Paterno, and may you now rest easy ... WE ARE ... PENN STATE."

Pain Clinic Raided Again Yesterday

2012-01-26T14:25:00.000-05:00

I wrote yesterday about an eastern Kentucky pain clinic under scrutiny for alleged illegal prescriptions. Here's an update.

"More than two dozen law enforcement officers swarmed the Care More Pain Management clinic in Paintsville on Wednesday morning — the second raid in less than a year on a clinic that’s under fire for allegedly doling out prescriptions for narcotics too freely.

"Twenty-nine people were arrested outside the clinic, one on a drug-related DUI charge and most of the rest on outstanding warrants, said Dwayne Price, the Johnson County sheriff. The raid was part of an ongoing investigation by Attorney General Jack Conway’s office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration into doctors who allegedly over-prescribe pain medications." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012301250089)

Cyber Attacks Are Attacks Even When They Have No Credibility

2012-01-26T09:48:00.000-05:00

The ultra-right has no shame. It even attacks little girls, cookie sales, and learning badges.

You'll see what I mean at "Honest Girl Scouts.com." (http://www.honestgirlscouts.com/discover_2011natlconv.html) There you will find accusations such as, "you would have to conclude that they (Girl Scouts) just promote pro-abortion, pro-promiscuity, pro-gay-lesbian, liberal SPEAKERS AND ENTERTAINERS (paid with your donations and purchases of cookies, uniforms, books, badges, gift items, etc.)."

There you'll also find attacks on people who have nothing to do with Girl Scouts. Ah, like the evil Katie Couric is included: "QUOTE: 'Women are half the population, let’s not waste all these brains on things that don’t matter,' she said. 'Now more than ever Girl Scouts are needed to create the leaders of tomorrow.'

"Are we to gather from this comment, that women who can afford and/or choose to stay home and raise their kids -- instead of handing them over to strangers and institutions all day so Mommy can be a community activist -- are doing things that don't matter? Are we also to think that Girl Scouting is a replacement for traditional values because it indoctrinates children to become social and political activists 'leaders of tomorrow?'"

Huh? It would be easy to laugh this off for most of us. The Kentuckiana Girl Scouts, for one, don't think it's a laughing matter.

“'I almost feel like we’re under attack right now,' said Lora Tucker, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. She told WHAS11 News she wants to know who is behind the information being posted on the internet. 'There’s a lot of misinformation,' said Tucker." (http://www.whas11.com/home/Girl-Scouts-of-Kentuckiana-CEO-defends-organization-138080573.html)
Check out the "Boycott Cookie Flier" at http://www.honestgirlscouts.com/index.html. It's a reminder that anyone with a computer -- and that includes nutjobs -- can create hardships for our organizations. This is so stupid that only those building bunkers against the world would believe it. I trust this nonsense won't affect Girl Scout cookie sales. How many of you believe that every box of cookies sold will subsidize preteen abortions and lesbian promotion?

But there are many more credible attacks online that can affect your business or services. Your crisis communications plan has to account for such cyber attacks.

Kentucky Clinic Raided, Doctor charged; Clinic Remains Open

2012-01-25T17:04:00.000-05:00

Care More Pain Management clinic is in Paintsville, Kentucky. I see nothing in the way of a decent response to its ongoing crisis. But quotes by an owner are worth a laugh. Apparently it's nothing more than a prescription "pill mill."

"For more than two years, until his Feb. 16 arrest, Dr. Richard Albert doled out prescriptions for narcotics like candy on Halloween night. He wrote them in the office for people who received only a cursory physical examination, or none at all. He wrote them on Easter Sunday in the living room of his home. He wrote them in a fast-food restaurant parking lot.

"And sometimes he merely signed them, with clinic employees later filling in the blanks, including the patient's name and the narcotic drug being prescribed." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111220/NEWS01/120125018)

Court records show clinic clients paid Albert $200, $185 for returning customers. Some spent five minutes with Albert while others didn't see him at all.
Care Pain Management clinic responded by changing its name to Care More Medical Management. It's still in business.

"Before Albert's (guilty) plea, Tammy Cantrell, one of the clinic's owners, denied that Cantrell violated the law while working there or that she knew what he was doing.

"'He done his meanness after hours,' Cantrell said in an interview. 'What he was doing illegal was after hours, not on our time.'"

Nevertheless, Care More was paying Albert $8,500 a week. Sometimes Cantrell, who has no medical training or college degree, filled out prescriptions presigned by Albert. "Moreover, Care More now employs a physician, Rano Bofill, who has been disciplined in West Virginia for a drug-prescribing-related violation, who is practicing under sanctions imposed by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure and who himself is a prolific prescriber of controlled substances...."

"In September 2009, according to the plea agreement and the affidavit, DEA agent (Lynne) Thompson arranged an interview with Cantrell, who acknowledged that she, (Shelby) Lackey and their husbands owned the clinic — which had moved twice during the year and was now located up a hollow on Teays Branch Road, primarily an industrial area. Cantrell confirmed Albert's salary, said he saw patients at the office after hours and on weekends, and that he had a side practice called Appalachian Pain, according to the affidavit....

"Asked how much money the clinic took in, Cantrell said, 'That's none of your business,' before hanging up the phone. In a later conversation, she contended that Care More did not make 'much' of a profit. 'We was paying a man a lot of money and got screwed,' Cantrell said. 'He was a crook. We thought we had a good physician. Come to find out we had, I guess you would call, a con artist.'

"Asked about the assertion in court records that she filled out prescriptions that Albert pre-signed, Cantrell said, 'I don't remember that. If we wrote any prescriptions, they were signed by him. It is not illegal to write a prescription for a doctor if they review and sign it.'"

The website cited above, by the way, contains a great photo of Cantrell's co-owner husband with arm extended in an effort to avoid a news photographer. Care More was raided by authorities earlier this year. Seventeen people were arrested and office files and computers were seized. How in the world is the clinic and company still in business?

The Loss of Joe Paterno

2012-01-22T12:07:00.001-05:00

Twice I have wept at the death of a person not related to me. Roberto Clemente. And Joe Paterno. I wrote here earlier that JoePa was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb. The university's board of trustees killed him when they fired him. This Penn State crisis is worthy of a Shakespeare tragedy. Comments, please?

Cruise Ship Crisis Leaves Industry in its Own Crisis

2012-01-16T13:15:00.000-05:00

Costa Cruises is blaming its own employee for the disaster off the coast of Italy that killed at least six people. Others in the cruise industry are wise to anticipate at least a short-term crisis. Notice that "cruises" is "crises," but without "u."

"The captain of the Costa Cruises ship that partially sank on Friday after hitting rocks off the coast of Italy had diverted the vessel onto a route not authorized by the company, its CEO says. 'It is human error here,' Costa chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi told reporters dialed into a conference call this morning. 'The captain did not follow the authorized route that is used by Costa ships very frequently.'" (http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/01/costa-concordia-cruise-ceo-captain/604363/1?csp=hf)

You don't have to work for Costa to have a crisis. "Many veteran cruise sellers are bracing for a drop in bookings in the wake of Friday's deadly accident involving a Costa Cruises ship. 'It's hard to see the industry not experiencing at least a small short-term slowdown from this,' Florida-based Simon Duvall of SimonCruises.com tells USA TODAY. 'The images and stories coming out of Italy are shocking even to those of us who love cruising and consider it safe, so to a first-timer or someone who is nervous about it, (this) very well might be a deal breaker.'"
(http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/01/costa-cruise-ship-concordia-accident/604029/1)

Longtime cruise seller Amber Blecker of CruiseOne in Aurora, Colorado, says she has no doubt the disaster will have an effect on bookings.

"Blecker says she already has heard from long-term clients who have told her they've been discussing already-booked cruises with their families in the wake of the incident. The clients still plan to go, but 'the fact they took the time to write indicated cancellation was at least a possibility.'" She expects the impact of the incident on business to be short term -- maybe just a few weeks. That's been the pattern with high-profile cruise ship accidents in the past. Still, others aren't so sure.

"'There are so many elements in play here that are unprecedented in modern-day cruise ship annals that it makes predictions difficult,' says Mike Driscoll, editor of a publication for cruise-selling agents called Cruise Week. For starters, says Driscoll, January is one of the busiest booking times of the year for the cruise industry, part of a critical period known as Wave Season, so 'the timing isn't good.'

"In addition to the costs to Costa associated with the accident and for amending and refunding future cruises on the ship, 'there is the potential that this event could weigh on booking trends across other cruise brands ... given the fact that it occurred early in the Wave season,' the S&P bulletin says."

A crisis doesn't have to be your own to affect your bottom line. It's critical to have a crisis communications plan so you are ready to respond credibly to a crisis you may have had nothing to do with. A chemical explosion, a chlorine leak, a plane crash, a cruise ship accident...You need to be prepared for others' crises, not just your own.

Shooting Leaves North Carolina Company Stammering

2012-01-13T14:01:00.000-05:00

It's sad enough that Fortune 500 companies are ill prepared to communicate through a crisis. But mom-and-pop businesses perhaps have the most to lose and are even less prepared.

Take, for instance, McBride Lumber Company in Star, North Carolina. At 6 a.m. today, a former employee entered the business and shot four people, killing three. He was later picked up at his home in serious condition with a self-inflicted wound. He left a note, but police haven't released its contents.

Here is what the owner and founder, Dorothy McBride, told the Associated Press: "'Oh, my God, I can't believe it,' said McBride, who was not at the business at the time of the shootings. 'I just can't talk about it right now. I have to find out more.'" (http://abcnews.go.com/US/man-shoots-nc-lumber-yard/story?id=15355139)

With a crisis communications plan, McBride would have been able to catch her breath and, at the least, express sympathy for the victims' families. She might have gone on to offer what the company was doing for the surviving victim. And she could have reassured customers of the company's pallet business that the plant remained in full production.

Instead, McBride came off like a deer caught in headlights. Don't let this be you. Have a crisis communications plan, practice it, and be ready to grab it off the shelves, from the trunk of your car, or from your nightstand.

Presbyterians Face Another Crisis: Secession

2012-01-11T15:30:00.001-05:00

I went home for the holidays, but I didn't dare don my gay apparel.

My mother informed me that her church, Center Presbyterian in Grove City, Pennsylvania, was taking steps to separate from the Presbyterian Church, headquartered in my new home, Louisville, Kentucky. When I asked her why, she said it was over the denomination's vote to permit gay men and lesbian women to be ordained as ministers.

I did a little reading since and learned that Center Church, which has been Presbyterian since 1801, isn't the only seceding congregation. Between 2007 and 2010, 78 congregations have left the denomination.

"Presbyterian conservatives are drafting plans for a new denomination as an alternative to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), citing liberal trends over sexuality and theology in the Louisville-based denomination. The 'New Reformed Body' — the working title for the as-yet-unnamed group — would also be an alternative to the existing conservative Presbyterian denominations that broke with the main denomination in previous decades." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120107/NEWS01/301070073/Presbyterian-may-split-Conservatives-drafting-plans-new-denomination)

It's challenging to find much about the rebellion on the denomination's website. Past moderator of the General Assembly, Cynthia Bolbach, wrote a column in which she confessed, "I don’t want to suggest that all is sweetness and light. We are grappling with serious and divisive issues. It may well be that 2012 will bring about departures of some congregations to other denominations that they feel will better suit their theological perspective.

"But these last eighteen months as Moderator of the General Assembly have shown me that the PC(USA) is neither defunct nor dying. I have witnessed a community of faith called the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) where people are living out the gospel with integrity and courage, where people are proclaiming God’s Word authentically and effectively, and where people are coming together to discern where God is leading them." (http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/1/6/alive-and-well/)

He's leading lots of them to the exits, apparently. "It’s too early to say how many congregations might join a new denomination. But the Orlando gathering is expected to draw representatives from more than 700 congregations, said an organizer, the Rev. Paul Detterman of Louisville, administrative assistant to the group Fellowship of Presbyterians. That’s equal to about 7 percent of the denomination’s total congregations." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120107/NEWS01/301070073/Presbyterian-may-split-Conservatives-drafting-plans-new-denomination)

Center church's website doesn't tackle the issue about leaving the denomination. But its larger sister church in this largely agricultural community midway between Pittsburgh and Erie does have something to say. East Main Presbyterian's website says, "We have always found solace in the idea that as long as our local church and presbytery remain true to the Scriptures, then East Main Presbyterian Church (EMPC) is insulated from the decisions of the denomination and it's theological direction. However, General Assembly's adoption of a recent change in ordination standards has, for some, become the last straw. The Session of EMPC (the governing body) has declared that at this point in history we need to thoroughly and prayerfully examine the issues and discern how best to respond." (http://www.eastmainpc.org/index.cfm/PageID/908/index.html/#context)

That doesn't sound like what Bolbach wrote on the denomination's website, that her months as moderator "have shown me that the PC(USA) is neither defunct nor dying. I have witnessed a community of faith called the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)...."

The fact is that protestant denominations were floundering like a fish on the bank of the River Jordan, even before the economy reduced the size of collection plates. I'm not sure what the General Assembly was thinking when it allowed gays to be ordained, a controversial decision debated for years. Those who voted yea must have known that even more Presbyterians would abandon ship. I applaud them for doing what they believe to be the right thing. But the right thing sometimes is the wrong thing.

As we are seeing in Congress, compromise is what keeps the wheels on the cart. The Presbyterians didn't get that memo.

The denomination has lurched from crisis to crisis, not the least of which is the question of gay ordination. The debate should be, how can we retain members and revenue. Conservative versus liberal is killing the denomination, just as it is killing our confidence in Congress. The Presbyterians would be well advised to take note and seek ways to build bridges, not moats.

Harrods Creek Crisis Was Literally a Smoldering Crisis

2012-01-09T11:25:00.000-05:00

This is a story about how one crisis turned into another one.

Harrods Creek Fire and Rescue in Prospect, Kentucky, is very close to the Ohio River. Station Two received a call on December 3 about a boat in distress. The firefighters made good time leaving the station and rushing to the river. Chief Kevin Tyler went to the scene and, when satisfied the situation was under control, stopped by the firehouse. A potential crisis on the river was averted.

But not at Station Two. Tyler found that a fire had spread from the kitchen cabinets into the living room. Apparently someone left food cooking on a stove. Firefighters can't return to ole' number two until it makes $80,000 in repairs.

"(Tyler) said he was embarrassed by having a fire in the firehouse. Because of it, both stations will now be outfitted with a system that will automatically turn off power to certain appliances when call signals come into the station and firefighters are dispatched, Tyler said." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012301080054)

The fire company's mission lists "safety first" at the top of its mission. (http://www.hcfd.org/Welcome.html) The red faces at Harrods Creek didn't get that way by standing too close to a fire. But adding automatic power turn-off is a smart move to prevent this crisis from recurring.

Remember that the crisis gods love irony. Be prepared. And learn from your crises.

Fracking and Sand Mining Dig Up Smoldering Crisis

2012-01-07T12:24:00.000-05:00

Fracking, the controversial method of removing natural gas from once-unreachable places, is digging up trouble -- and making money -- in Wisconsin. In what some describe as a gold rush, shovels are digging a special sand in Chippewa Falls and a few other places. At least one company involved claims to be doing all the right things environmentally. Many others aren't so sure.

The soft sandstone has grains of ideal size, shape, strength and purity to be combined with water and chemicals and then shot deep into the ground to unlock rich gas and oil reserves, largely in the Northeast.
"U.S. frac sand producers sold or used more than 6.5 million metric tons of sand worth $319 million in 2009, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tonnage likely will have doubled when 2010 data is released, said Thomas Dolley, a USGS mineral commodity specialist who follows the silica mining industry." (http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/business/9852633-420/natural-gas-oil-boom-spurs-sand-mining-in-midwest.html)

Some in the area are saying stop or at least slow down. The petro industry scoffs. "John Felmy, chief economist with the American Petroleum Institute, said opponents of hydraulic fracturing are 'fundamentally misguided' and the environmental fears are unwarranted. The surge in sand mining has extended the domestic energy boom to portions of the country that don't produce much fuel, bringing jobs and economic development, he said."

Fracking has brought documented cases of polluted groundwater that has tainted people's wells, according to many of those "fundamentally misguided" people. Some say the oil companies have no way to treat chemical-laden water. It's a highly charged issue in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, where politicians are receiving large political donations, landowners are receiving generous fees, and petro companies are making gobs of money.

Meanwhile, back in the Wisconsin sand mines: "Activists say frac sand isn't ordinary sand. They fear fine silica dust from the mines and plants will make people sick, spoil the landscape and contaminate ground water. Fresh, fine silica dust is a well-documented health risk blamed for lung diseases such as silicosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases, but most published research is about workplace dangers, said David F. Goldsmith, an expert on silica hazards and professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University."

Texas and California have set silica standards. Wisconsin has not. Houston-based EOG Resources claims it has worked to address local concerns about dust, safety and the environment at its mines and sand processing plant in Chippewa Falls. The main mine is surrounded by berms with vegetation, company spokeswoman K Leonard said. Most of the plant's equipment is enclosed and the conveyor, storage, and filtration systems are designed to reduce dust. The plant monitors air quality and the company will monitor groundwater at its three mine sites in Wisconsin.

"'We look forward to being a good steward of the Chippewa Falls environment and a good community partner with the citizens of Wisconsin,'" Leonard wrote in an email."

Nevertheless, "Some counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin have responded to health and environmental concerns by passing mining moratoriums to buy time for more study. Others are debating whether to hit the brakes on further mine development."

Leonard claims the sand plant, just now starting up, will employ 40 or 50 full-time people, mining contractors now employ 25 people, and the trucking company that delivers the sand has added 70 jobs.

EOG and others involved in this controversial business need to be out talking -- mostly listening -- to affected communities. Peter Sandman (not silica sand man) in the mid '80s defined risk as hazard plus outrage. He developed outrage factors that include trust, control, voluntariness, dread, benefit, and familiarity (http://www.psandman.com/index-OM.htm). EOG should familiarize itself with Sandman, then contact a firm like the Institute for Crisis Management to help create an action plan aimed at reducing outrage. Those fracking companies (No, that's not a dirty-word typo) should do the same -- more than TV spots, political donations, and money in landowners' pockets. Otherwise, these lucrative operations could be headed for a crisis.

Boeing Leaves Wichita With Empty Bags on the Tarmac

2012-01-05T14:56:00.001-05:00

What goes "kathunk!" in the middle of the night in Wichita?

That's the sound of the door closing as the last employee locks up at Boeing for good. Plants close all the time. What makes this one hard to swallow is that it once employed 40,000, but now employs just over 2,000. The good people of Wichita apparently never saw it coming.

"Boeing Co.’s decision to shut down its Wichita, Kansas, plant after more than 80 years betrayed public officials who helped the planemaker win a U.S. Air Force contract for midair refueling tankers, the city’s mayor said.

"'Boeing didn’t consult with city officials or ask for financial incentives to stay put before announcing its decision yesterday to close the Wichita (10557MF) plant with 2,160 workers before 2014, Mayor Carl Brewer said in a telephone interview. The company had indicated that winning the Air Force tanker work last year would support 7,500 local jobs, Brewer said." (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/boeing-betrayal-stirs-wichita-after-city-helped-win-tanker-bid-mayor-says.html)

To top it off, Boeing has benefited from $4 billion of municipal bonds and tax relief. “'We thought the relationship was a lot stronger,'” Brewer said.

Here's where other communities need to perk up their ears and prepare for a crisis in heir towns and states: "Wichita’s loss may be a harbinger of reductions for cities and states around the nation that depend on defense industry employers as budget deficits squeeze Pentagon spending. Cuts of as much as $1 trillion may be made over a decade under a congressional deal to extend the U.S. debt ceiling last year.

"The move 'reflects the economic reality of a changing and shrinking defense budget,' said Howard Rubel, a Jefferies & Co. analyst in New York."

The company claims it didn’t plan to close the Wichita plant when Kansas politicians were lobbying on Boeing's behalf to land the tanker contract. Mark Bass, vice president for maintenance, modification and upgrades in Boeing’s defense unit, told reporters on a conference call that the new work won’t make up for expiring projects in Wichita, where labor, facilities, and infrastructure costs aren’t competitive.

"The company spent more than $3.2 billion with approximately 475 Kansas suppliers in 2011, spanning its commercial and defense businesses, making it the fourth largest state in Boeing's supplier network," said Bass in a release. "Based on Boeing Commercial Airplanes growth projections for the next few years, Boeing anticipates even more growth for suppliers in Kansas. Boeing values its long-term partnership with Kansas, and we will continue to work with all of our stakeholders in Kansas in support of a robust aerospace industry in the state." (http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2090)

The problem with that statement is the company's credibility in Kansas has disappeared faster than a 737 flying into the sunset. After taking the state's and city's money, after leaning on lobbying efforts to land a lucrative project, after promising 7,500 more jobs if it won the contract, how much credibility does Boeing have left in the state?

It's so easy to make promises and "commitments." But business conditions change and a bussiness' plans change accordingly. That seems to be what has happened in Wichita. Remember this story when you want to tell the world how committed you are to any given location. It's better to fudge a bit than to make promises you might not be able to keep. You can't have someone scratch your back and then stab them in theirs.

Take a Picture; It Lasts Longer...Or Does It?

2012-01-05T14:05:00.001-05:00

"That was a Kodak moment."

When someone said that, it meant something happened that was picture perfect. Not any more.

"Kodak has been in the camera and film business for more than a century. It is reportedly filing for bankruptcy. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images) According to a Wall Street Journal report, Kodak, the 131-year-old photography company, is preparing for a Chapter 11 filing. If the company cannot sell its cache of 1,100 digital-imaging patents — which could fetch from $2 million to $3 billion —Kodak will go bankrupt....

"The company was felled by the adaptation of digital photography, despite having invented the first digital camera in 1975. Rather than staying on top of the digital revolution, the company seemed mired in nostalgia, better known for its old 'brownie' cameras, the quality of its now-defunct Kodachrome film and for the phrase 'Kodak Moment,' which entered the lexicon as a description of a photo-worthy scene. 'The brand belongs in a museum,' wrote (Alan) Brew, (a principal of RiechesBaird, a brand strategy and marketing company." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/kodak-bankruptcy-photographers-mourn/2012/01/05/gIQAxiXjcP_blog.html)

Twitter is a-tweet with photographers lamenting the pending demise of the bright yellow icon. But the Kodak corporate site -- well, not so much.

There's a release that tells how "the Company has received a continued listing standards notice from the New York Stock Exchange (the 'NYSE') because the average closing price of the Company’s common stock was less than $1.00 per share over a period of 30 consecutive trading days." (http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Kodak_Receives_Continued_Listing_Standards_Notice_from_the_New_York_Stock_Exchange.htm) Stock closed yesterday at $.47.

Maybe there's more there about Kodak's financial troubles. I only went back a month. But the website continues to encourage job seekers to apply to the company. That page needs deleted and several other pages should be updated to reflect current events in the company.

In addition, there should be a letter from the CEO and a clear link to reach it. He needs to be telling customers and investors what the company is doing to right itself. It's trying to sell patents, but is that it? No business spinoffs, no cost cutting, no new marketing strategies? The company must be taking an assortment of drastic measures. So tell us. I don't want to read about all your wonderful products on the web if you're not going to be around long enough to deliver them.

Maybe Brew is right. Kodak belongs in a museum. Now THAT would be a Kodak moment!

Hiccups for Best Buy Are Humbug for Some Customers

2011-12-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

No, Virginia, Santa Claus isn't Best Buy. One has a crisis, the other doesn't. Guess which is which.

If you guessed Best Buy, give yourself a Christmas cookie. You may have heard:

"The nation's largest specialty electronics retailer announced Wednesday that 'overwhelming demand for some products from Bestbuy.com has led to a problem redeeming online orders made in November and December.'

"The company apparently failed to anticipate a surge in online purchases following enticing online deals and was forced to cancel orders when it could not fill them. On the company's website, customers wrote on message boards about their experiences, titling their posts 'Best Buy Cancelled my Christmas!' and 'Bait, Switch, and THEFT by BestBuy.'" (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/best-buy-black-friday/)

Best Buy apologized, blaming overwhelming demand of hot product offerings. It says less than one percent of orders were canceled, according to Susan Busch, senior director of Best Buy’s public relations.

“'What was wrong is that there was an unacceptable delay between order confirmations and cancellations, and for that we are very sorry,' said Busch, in an e-mailed statement. 'It’s important to note that this was a rare situation based on a high volume of orders over a short period of time.' She said that Best Buy was giving electronic gift cards to affected customers as a goodwill gesture." (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/best-buy-black-friday/)

Less than one percent, an apology, and electronic gift cards to affected customers. Is that good enough?

"Customers expressed their frustration in Best Buy’s online forums, with some parents asserting that the retailer had ruined Christmas for their children." The word is out there to more than one percent of consumers.

"'It is a hiccup for the company,' Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy said. 'They were kind of behind the curve building out their online channel. They've done a good job investing in it, but if you make a lot of rapid changes, inevitably there are going to be growing pains.'" (http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic/best-buy-s-failure-to-fill-orders-lets-down-some/article_07218586-2dc5-11e1-a3d7-0019bb2963f4.html)

There was another hiccup. "It was Best Buy’s second online problem of the holidays: the company also flubbed a pre-Black Friday special for its Reward Zone Premier Silver loyalty program participants, angering some of its best customers, who were unable to check out and complete their Web purchases." (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/best_buy_oops_it_our_bad_DMaTNoIEI74n506Os7cyBJ)

A hiccup isn't "a" hiccup. It's a series of events that can eventually become painful. Sometimes when I get hiccups, they go on and on until my chest hurts and I can't eat. Yes, Best Buy will emerge with its bottom line probably unaffected. But beware: Circuit City had hiccups that eventually put it out of business.

The part that bothers me most is, "The Minneapolis-based company has declined to specify how many orders are affected or which products are out of stock. The inability to fulfill some of those orders was unsurprising but also upsetting for the company, analysts said." (http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic/best-buy-s-failure-to-fill-orders-lets-down-some/article_07218586-2dc5-11e1-a3d7-0019bb2963f4.html)

Why withhold that information? A further consideration that makes me go hmmm: "To compete, Best Buy has expanded its online offerings, cut back on square footage in the U.S. by closing stores and sought to expand internationally."

Yet it wasn't ready for so many on-line sales. Holiday sales are 40% of Best Buy's annual business. It does little good to increase sales volumes and then not meet them. Plus it waited four weeks to tell customers they wouldn't receive their orders. The retailer has to reassure its customers it is reliable. I would suggest, Best Buy, to hold your breath, take a drink of water, and eat a mouthful of peanut butter. All those things can help stop the hiccups.

Political Advocacy Is One Thing; Cutting off Your Nose Is Another

2011-12-08T15:11:00.001-05:00

Someone explain to me how such childish behavior helps this business and extinguishes a smoldering crisis.

"A business owner in western Georgia instituted a new company policy recently: 'We are not hiring until Obama is gone.'

"Bill Looman, who owns U.S. Cranes, LLC in Waco, Georgia, explained that while 'I’ve got people that I want to hire now,' he didn’t think he would be able to foot the expense 'unless some things change in D.C.'
Not content to simply implement the new policy internally, Looman decided to plaster it on all his company’s trucks. He did so, as 11Alive noted, 'for all to see as the trucks roll up and down roads, highways and interstates....'

"More importantly, Looman’s assertion that he would be able to hire more workers but for Obama’s economic policies defies reason. In the last few months alone, Obama has proposed giving major tax credits to businesses that hire new workers, including a $4,000 credit for hiring the long-term unemployed. Just this week, Obama signed a law to give additional tax credits to businesses that hire veterans.

"Ironically, despite the fact that he claims to want to hire new workers, Looman’s anti-Obama anti-hiring stance will prevent his business from enjoying any of these new incentives." (http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/11/27/376148/georgia-not-hiring-until-obama-gone/)

He sounds qualified for Congress, but not to run a successful business.

Massey Energy Saga Continues, And So Do the Lessons We Can Learn

2011-12-07T14:58:00.000-05:00

Epilogue: There's almost always a price to pay for ignoring smoldering crises. Or in this instance, actually inviting a sudden crisis.

Case in point is Massey Energy and its Upper Big Branch Mine, where 29 men died in an explosion in 2010. I've written the story to death in this blog for some 18 months. One manager awaits sentencing, an investigation into other possible arrests continues, and the company was sold cheap early this year to Alpha Natural Resources. Massey's CEO was forced to retire a year ago and, if he's not trembling in his boots, he should be. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration released its final report on its investigation of Massey yesterday. Alpha will have to pay a $210 million settlement.

"The report by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration found 369 safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine, though most weren’t considered contributing factors in the April 2010 explosion. Fines related to the violations account for $10.8 million of the settlement, which also includes compensation for victims’ families and funds to improve underground mining safety." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111206/NEWS01/312060120/West-Virginia-coal-mine-violoations)

The investigation found “systematic, intentional and aggressive efforts” by Massey and its subsidiary, Performance Coal Co., to hide safety problems from regulators. "It did that by maintaining two sets of safety inspection record books, one with faked data giving the impression there were minimal concerns, and a more accurate, production-oriented record the company used to keep the coal flowing."

The report also accuses the company of intimidating workers who reported safety issues.

"Performance Coal President Chris Blanchard told one miner, 'If you don’t start running coal up there, I’m going to bring the whole crew outside and get rid of every one of you,' the report recounts. MSHA says interviews also revealed that a top company official suspended a section foreman who delayed production for one or two hours to make safety corrections."

“Massey knew or should have known about all of these hazards but failed to take corrective action to prevent a catastrophic accident,” the report says.

Now there's a great quote! Read it again. How many of our organizations know about a problem but fail to correct it? And how many don't know about problems because they don't have "sniffers" in place to identify them? That's what a smoldering crisis is.

Failing to obey laws and standard operating procedures should be pretty easy to spot. The issue is, what are you going to do about it? And for harder-to-spot smoldering crises, your organization needs a system in place to identify them and a management resolve to correct them.

Elderly Woman Claims She Was Strip Searched; Government Agency Calls Her a Liar

2011-12-05T14:39:00.002-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But the holidays don't have the same feel anymore. Where we once had, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer," we now have, "Grandma got strip searched at the airport."

At the risk of making light of a bad situation that may be symptomatic of how the Transportation Security Administration operates some of the time in some of the places, this poor woman claims to have been put through a lot at JFK Airport.

"Lenore Zimmerman said she was whisked away to a private room and made to take off her pants and other clothes after she asked to forgo the screening because she worried it would interfere with her defibrillator. She missed her flight and had to take one two-and-a-half hours later, she said." (http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/03/9191260-84-year-old-woman-i-was-strip-searched-at-jfk?chromedomain=usnews)

Okay, here's where the credibility of you and your organization come into play. "But the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement Saturday no strip search was conducted. 'While we regret that the passenger feels she had an unpleasant screening experience, TSA does not include strip searches as part of our security protocols and one was not conducted in this case,' the statement read."

So the little-old lady, 84 years old, 110 pounds, lied about a strip search? What, did she stop off in the bar for a belt and a smoke and so she missed her plane?

There's more tear-jerk fodder. "As she tried to lift a lightweight walker off her lap (as she sat in a wheelchair), she said the metal bars hit her leg, causing blood to flow from her gash, the newspaper reported. 'My sock was soaked with blood,' she said. 'I was bleeding like a pig.'"

Most of us would believe the little old lady before we believed TSA. That's why TSA shouldn't have denied the strip search occurred without thorough internal and outside investigations. TSA has done some dumb things here and there. I don't know Mrs. Zimmerman, but she's a grandma, and my grandmas wouldn't lie about a strip search.

Symbolism is important when crafting your messages. I remember an episode of All in the Family when Archie was in a car accident. He was all set to sue their pants off -- until his lawyer discovered his wreck was with a station wagon full of nuns.

Mrs. Zimmerman is no station wagon full of nuns. But TSA's statement should have said, "We are sorry for any embarrassment and inconvenience our passenger may have endured. Strip searches are not a standard procedure of TSA nor should they be. We will investigate the incident thoroughly and, if we feel it's necessary, will have outside investigators look into the matter. This should not have happened and should not happen again."

Now you didn't flat out call the woman a liar. You said you would take action. And if you corroborate the woman's story, there is far less crow to eat. According to TSA, "A review of closed-circuit television at the airport showed proper procedures were followed, Jonathan Allen, a TSA spokesman, said in a statement.

"'Private screening was requested by the passenger, it was granted and lasted approximately 11 minutes,' the statement read. 'TSA screening procedures are conducted in a manner designed to treat all passengers with dignity, respect and courtesy and that occurred in this instance.' The private screening was not recorded."

Who you gonna believe? We're not talking facts, we're talking perceptions.

Mrs. Zimmerman said she is considering filing a law suit. She might as well. TSA is a far cry from a station wagon full of nuns.

I Can't Think of an Appropriate Title

2011-12-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

"Police say a 69-year-old woman from Palm Springs has been arrested after her husband reported that she tried to cut off his penis with a large pair of scissors.

"Palm Springs police said in a statement Sunday that Virginia Valdez was arrested on suspicion of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and spousal abuse.

"Online jail records say she was released Sunday and is scheduled to appear in court next month." (http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9222193-police-wife-tried-to-cut-off-husbands-penis)

In a related story, Herman Cain has dropped out of the Republican Presidential race. He blames the news media, but the real problem was too many women he once worked with tried to raise Cain.

Mail Boxes May Join TV Aerials in Musems

2011-12-05T13:28:00.001-05:00

What does a business in financial crisis do? The people in the record business switched to eight-tracks, then cassette tapes, then CDs. The people in the computer business make laptops and Notebooks and I-don't-know-what-else-because-I-haven't-checked-Best-Buy's-Website-yet-today. We (if you're old enough) progressed from Beta to VHS to DVDs and Blue Ray.

You get the idea. Obsolete industries that can't transition to meet new consumer demands will whither. Nothing new here.

Now take the United States Postal Service. Email replaced letter writing more than a decade ago. I pay all my bills but one line. Once every few weeks, I receive a card or worthwhile something in the mail. The rest of my mail is trashed, much of it unopened.

"The Postal Service is on the brink of insolvency. It's facing another 20% drop in mail volume on top of the 20% volume drop it has already weathered. It has racked up $5.1 billion in debt this year and faces a deadline to make another $5.5 billion payment to its health care retirement fund on Dec. 18." (http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/news/economy/postal_service_next_day/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2)

It needs to do more than close post offices and slow mail service, which will inconvenience those like my mother who still use snail mail. This is a crisis that has been coming for years. The latest downsizing simply delays the inevitable -- a bigger downsizing in a few years.

The Postal Service missed the boat when it didn't respond adequately if at all to threats like Internet Explorer, Facebook, and cell phones, plus competitors like UPS and FedEx. Now the post office needs to come up with the latest and greatest communications technology instead of worrying about the compliance of my mail box dimensions.

The postal service is still trying to sell vinyl record albums in an era of music downloads.

The Tale of a Racist Church, a Troubled Televangelist, and an Abusive Coach

2011-12-05T12:40:00.000-05:00

Today I want to update some stories I've commented on in the past. I said how I would handle the situations. Whether these people in crisis did the right things (based on my humble opinion) -- well, let's see.

Kentucky Church Tries to Ban Interracial Couples From Worship (December 1 blog)

"A tiny all-white Appalachian church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining its flock, pitting members against each other in an argument over race. Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church voted Sunday on the resolution, which says the church 'does not condone interracial marriage.'"

The latest: The church Sunday overturned its interracial ban, "saying it welcomes all believers. Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted...."

"Stepp said the Sandy Valley Conference of Free Will Baptists declared the vote on Thompson's resolution null and void during a meeting on Saturday. He said he told church members on Sunday about the decision and proposed a resolution to promote 'peace, love and harmony.' He said the resolution to welcome all believers passed with a unanimous vote." (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=143122466)

Was it just my Sunday School class that taught me that Jesus welcomed all? There was no issue here but racial hatred. It never should have happened and it never should have come to the attention of the Associated Press. In the end, the church punted as it should have. But there never should have been a fourth down. The issue was divisive within the church and I'm sure in the small community. Think: How is this going to play out on Main Street and the news media and is it really all that important to do?

Atlanta Televangelist's Ego Wounds His Mission (September 24 and 26, 2010)

"'The more powerful a Christian leader becomes, the fewer restraints that other people can put on them,' said the Rev. H.B. London Jr., vice president of ministry outreach for Focus on the Family. 'Some of these men and women become so powerful that no one can tell them no.'"

He (or maybe she) was talking about megachurch leader Eddie Long. He was accused last year of using his lavish and glamorous lifestyle to lure four young men into sexual relationships. The men received undisclosed settlements, even though Long never admitted he did anything wrong. Long also has been accused in involvement in an investment scam.

The latest: "In the past few days, Bishop Long and his wife Vanessa have been in the media for a divorce announcement that was made, rescinded and then reinstated all within hours of each other on the same day. After the last announcement stating that Mrs. Long would indeed follow through with the divorce petition, Bishop Long is now taking time off to spend with his family." (http://www.theroot.com/buzz/bishop-eddie-long-takes-leave-new-birth)

How touching! This mess probably is beyond fixing. Long has been in the public spotlight and made lots of money. How long is he going to take to heal his family? For the sake of his mission and all those who looked to him for leadership, he needs to step down. He needs to say the mission is more important than he or the distractions these accusations have created.

Sometimes, the organization is more important than one or a few transgressors. See below.

Former Penn State Coach Talks to Media About Sexual Scandal

This one has been written to death, but deserves one more reference and one more comment. The situation goes from bad to worse to -- what comes next?

I was going to take Jerry Sandusky to task, but my cohort Larry Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis Management, beat me to it. To paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3, (I guess there's a religious theme today), there's a time to speak and a time to shut up. The time to shut up has passed for Sandusky.
The latest: "The outrage was greater when he finally defended himself. Then it occurred to some so-called leaders that blaming potentially sexually abused children for their mistreatment was not gonna work. Then Sandusky agreed to do a four-hour interview with the New York Times, reiterating that, in his mind, he didn't do anything wrong. And the uproar was even greater." (http://www.crisisconsultants.blogspot.com/)

I return to the poster child for misspeaks, Tony Hayward of BP during the gulf oil spill. Remember the one that got him sent out to pasture? "I want to get my life back."

I preach -- Larry and I preach -- that "no comment" is probably never an appropriate response. But neither should your comment dig you deeper into a hole. Larry's blog suggests this was an appropriate comment for Sandusky: "'This is an issue that is likely going to be resolved in the court of law, and responses to those kinds of questions will best be answered in the court of law and not in the court of public opinion.'"

Isn't that better than, "If I say so, I'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth because I'm attracted to young people, boys and girls." (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2011/12/04/pkg-candiotti-sanduscky-nyt.cnn)

Only Whites Allowed

2011-12-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

Why do people create crises when they don't need to?

"A tiny all-white Appalachian church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining its flock, pitting members against each other in an argument over race. Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church voted Sunday on the resolution, which says the church 'does not condone interracial marriage.'" (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/30/1978678/small-ky-church-votes-against.html)

Stella Harville and Ticha Chikuni - an African and now her fiance - visited the church in June and Chikuni sang a song for the congregation. Dean Harville, the church's secretary, said he was counting the church offering after a service in early August when he was approached by Thompson, who told him Harville's daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.

But thank goodness the church isn't racist.

"The church member who crafted the resolution, Melvin Thompson, said he is not racist and called the matter an 'internal affair.' 'I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil' about a race, said Thompson, the church's former pastor who stepped down earlier this year. 'That's what this is being portrayed as, but it is not.'"

Some 35 or 40 people attended the meeting when the vote was taken. Most didn't vote. The tally was 9-6 in favor of banning interracial relationships.

Why invite public scrutiny?

Turnpike Spill Leaves 39-Mile 'Sticky Situation'

2011-11-24T13:23:00.000-05:00

It's almost time for a family tradition at my house: Watching A Christmas Story marathon on TBS. One of my favorite scenes is after Ralphie's friend Flick, on a triple-dog dare, stuck his tongue to a frozen pole on the playground. The teacher calmly tried to draw a confession or a tattle from Ralphie's class. Even thought he knew exactly what had happened, Ralphie looked at his classmates with wide-eyed innocence of a sweet cherub.

I hope that Marino Transportation Service isn't responding to its crisis with the Ralphie look. I can't tell so far. There's nothing on the website, and it's too soon to find mention on the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation page. Plus, "A call to Stevensville, Md.-based Marino Transportation Services from msnbc.com on Wednesday morning was not returned." (http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/23/8976015-gooey-tar-paralyzes-more-than-150-vehicles-in-pa)

Here is the crisis -- and it's a big and potentially expensive one. "A leaking valve on the tanker, which was transporting liquid driveway sealant, caused black tar-like fluid to flood the highway (Pennsylvania Turnpike), stopping motorists in their tracks as their wheels and undercarriages became mired in sludge.

The tanker began leaking near New Castle, Pa., and continued to spill sealant as it drove eastbound for 39 miles until it exited the turnpike at a service plaza in Oakmont, Turnpike spokesman Bill Capone said."

More than 150 cars were damaged, including turnpike maintenance vehicles and police cars. This happened Tuesday, and no dollar damage figures are available yet.

"Dan Gordon, owner of Cranberry Auto and Dan’s Towing, said his crews had received about 40 calls from stranded drivers as of 9 p.m. Tuesday. Gordon said he’s never seen a similar incident in the 26 years he’s been in the business.

“'Most of these cars are ruined, up underneath. That car over there’s got a transmission that’s ruined. It’s bad, I’ve never seen anything like it,' Gordon said. Turnpike maintenance crews were plowing and using sand to clean up and dry the tar Tuesday night, but all lanes remained open to traffic." (http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/tar-spill-snarls-traffic-on-turnpike/article_a045a45b-eb4b-52d1-a1ba-c3637556a4cb.html)

Affected travelers have been told to get a Pennsylvania State Police incident number from the turnpike’s Customer Assistance Center.

I wonder if MTS has the resources and insurance to cover the costs to motorists whose cars have been damaged and perhaps totalled. We can expect civil suits from stranded drivers, some of whom were on their way to visit families and friends for Thanksgiving.

According to Manta.com, MTS has annual sales of less than $500,000 and employs 48 people. (http://www.manta.com/c/mm8zvyz/marino-transportation-service) It's been in business since 2000.

I can imagine co-founder Nicholas Marino (whose picture is at http://www.gomts.com/) looking around his Thanksgiving table today innocently as his family discusses the tar spill. "'But those who did it know their blame, and I'm sure that the guilt you feel is far worse than any punishment you might receive. Now, don't you feel terrible? Don't you feel remorse for what you have done? Well, that's all I'm going to say about poor Flick.'

"Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Adults loved to say things like that but kids knew better. We knew darn well it was always better not to get caught." (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085334/quotes#qt0348955)

The Ralphie look won't work for the NTSB and state police.

Death of FAMU Band Major Appears To Be a Pattern of Dangerous Behavior

2011-11-23T09:55:00.006-05:00

Penn State isn't the only university that finds it needs to take swift and strong actions to move beyond a crisis. I hope Florida A&M manages its crisis better than Penn State's "Off with their heads" approach.

A band member died, reportedly due to a hazing. Furthermore, this has the appearance of an incident that's not isolated.

"Clarinet player Ivery Luckey just wanted to march on a football field with one of the nation's most prominent bands, the Marching 100 from Florida A&M University. He knew it would take hard work, practice and dedication. But Luckey eventually found out what it really took -- a trip through a gauntlet in which he was severely beaten by a group of established clarinet players.

"Luckey went through with it and says he was struck 300 times by his fellow performers during a 1998 hazing. That incident resulted in the suspension of 20 members from the band, a lawsuit filed by Luckey against the state Board of Regents and injuries that Luckey says led to several weeks in the hospital and permanent physical and emotional scars....

"And now it apparently has happened again, raising concerns by police, administrators and Luckey that FAMU officials haven't done enough to prevent hazing in the tight-knit marching band. According to news accounts, the Marching 100 has a long history of hazing incidents and has been the subject of at least seven formal investigations into hazing in the past decade." (http://savannahnow.com/stories/112001/LOChazing.shtml)

According to FAMU's website, the latest alleged hazing incident involved a drum major, Robert Champion. "According to Ginette Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, 'after the game, the band returned to the Rosen Plaza Hotel (9700 International Drive) and the victim reportedly threw up in the parking lot and started complaining of not being able to breathe.... This is an ongoing investigation. There is no sign of foul play at this time.'" (http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?a=headlines&p=display&news=2511)

No sign of foul play? What about this? "FAMU President James Ammons announced Tuesday he is immediately suspending 'any and all performances and engagements for bands and other ensembles under the auspices of the Music Department, including the Marching 100.' The suspension will stay in place during the investigations of Champion's death, Ammons said, and it will not be lifted until he authorizes it.

"Ammons vowed to convene a task force 'to determine if there are any unauthorized and questionable activities associated with the culture of the Marching 100.'" (http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/22/justice/florida-possible-hazing-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t3)

Julian White, director of the Marching 100 said he and administrators have made hazing prevention a priority in the past several years. He said all new members of the band attend workshops where they are briefed on the state's anti-hazing law, the university's strict policy against hazing and the consequences of hazing. Hazers will be suspended or expelled and can face criminal penalties.

"Despite a second round of suspensions during his term as director, White said he is unaware of any established hazing or initiation rituals in the band.

"But skeptics claim otherwise. Erika Bush, an attorney representing Luckey, said FAMU officials were aware for years that hazing was an established practice in the Marching 100. Bush points to news reports that trace hazing incidents back at least 20 years. In 1989, for example, eight band members were charged with battery and jailed after a fellow band member was shoved into a wall and elbowed in the head numerous times.

"William P. Foster, who retired in 1997 after directing the Marching 100 for 52 years, said hazing has been an annual event in the band for decades. He said he urged the university to take stronger sanctions against students who were involved in hazing, but administrators balked, he said." (http://savannahnow.com/stories/112001/LOChazing.shtml)

This tragedy seems to have been a smoldering crisis. Apparently hazing in the band is a long-standing and widely known practice. When you, as a communicator and defuser of smoldering crises, know of something that could cause embarrassment and shame to your organization, your duty is to be relentless to fix the problem and avert a crisis.

In this case, FAMU leadership failed to act, and now a student is dead. The university must take quick action to regain the support of key stakeholders. Suspending band performances is the right first step. But it's only the first step.

Egg Crisis Involves Big Dogs and Helpless Chickens

2011-11-19T16:21:00.005-05:00

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. No one understands that concept better than PETA and rival Mercy for Animals. Ronald McD had the audacity to buy eggs from a farm that allegedly treats its chickens cruelly. There's no attack against the people who have been youtubed torturing the chickens; the effort has been against the customer, who never met a chicken he didn't like.

Likewise, the criticism and legislation against the nutritional value of a McDonald's Happy Meal hasn't spilled over to Hardee's and Jack in the Box; just against the biggest, most visible player.

Nevertheless, McDonald's is taking this latest criticism eggstremely seriously this time. If you raise chickens and want to play ball with McDonald's, you better start doing things Ronald's way.
"The McDonald's restaurant chain has launched a major effort to improve the way egg farmers care for their hens -- a move that reflects rising scientific and public concern over how farm animals are treated. McDonald's Corp. sent letters to the farmers who supply the company with 1.5 billion eggs yearly outlining strict new regulations for raising hens.

"The guidelines require 50 percent more space for each caged hen, ban the controversial practice of withholding food and water to increase egg production, and require a gradual phasing out of the 'debeaking' that is common in the poultry industry.

"The move -- the first of its kind by any major U.S. food supplier -- was prompted by a combination of factors, including pressure from animal rights activists and growing concern among government and academic scientists that current methods of caring for chickens may increase the risk for diseases that can be spread to humans. Analysts also called it a potentially profitable business move -- to win credit for taking a step that might otherwise be required by the government." (http://www.jivdaya.org/mcdonald_tells_farmers_to_treat.html)

Aha! Read that last paragraph carefully. McDonald's is taking steps to prevent a smoldering crisis that will have an impact on its revenue from breakfasts.

As a lover of animals, I was glad to hear: "The fast-food giant McDonald's has severed ties with one of its US egg suppliers after a video taken by undercover animal rights activists exposed shocking cruelty to chickens at a farm.

"The footage showed chicks having the tips of their beaks burnt off by a machine and then being tossed into cages, along with images of barely-identifiable corpses of birds that were left to rot in cages.

"It also showed (male) chicks left to die in plastic bags, birds mangled by the bars of overcrowded cages and a chicken flapping its wings in distress as a plant worker swung the creature on a rope in a wide circle." (http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/mcdonalds-in-flap-over-chicken-cruelty-20111119-1noc7.html)

The company in question is Sparboe Farms, a family-run business. It too is responding appropriately, firing four employees and launching an investigation into treatment of its egg makers. Sparboe's owner, Beth Sparboe Schnell, wrote on the company's website, I was deeply saddened to see the story because this isn’t who Sparboe Farms is. Acts depicted in the footage are totally unacceptable and completely at odds with our values as egg farmers. In fact, they are in direct violation." (http://www.sparboeupdate.com/) Sparboe's entire chronological list of actions taken is really quite good and worth viewing for crisis communicators.

Mercy for Animals is using McDonald's, not the little-known Sparboe, to get its message across. It's easier for activists to get what they want by gaining the attention of the biggest dog wagging the biggest tail. "(Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals) said the decision to drop Sparboe as a supplier failed to provide a solution to the real problem - the use of cramped battery cages, which give hens no room to walk or spread their wings.

"Mercy for Animals said it was urging McDonald's to use its influence as the largest egg buyer in the US to improve industry standards and stop buying eggs from farms that use such cages." (http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/mcdonalds-in-flap-over-chicken-cruelty-20111119-1noc7.html)

If you are a McDonald's or a WalMart or a Subway, you need to be prepared for an attack against your size and name. If you supply the big dogs, be ready for indirect criticism of the way you do business. McDonald's is experiencing a small crisis and is handling it well. A bigger crisis is at Sparboe, which apparently has lost McDonald's as a customer. It should have seen that coming and acted sooner. It's now doing a good job trying to recover its fumble.

Crises Can Arise When Religious Beliefs And Laws Clash

2011-11-18T13:59:00.004-05:00

An 18-year-old man is dead. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. The most tragic thing is that it didn't need to happen. Sticking to your religious beliefs is one thing; breaking the law and putting lives at risk is quite another. This was and is a smoldering crisis on several fronts.

In September, 10 Amish men were arrested in Kentucky for refusing to place orange triangles on their buggies to alert drivers of a slow-moving vehicle. The defendants tried to say reflective orange tape was just as good. All 10 are from a strict Amish sect called Old Order Swartzentruber. And all 10 were sentenced to 10 days in jail. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/police-arrest-amish-men-i_n_964682.html)

This doesn't seem to be a matter of religious persecution, but of public safety. After all, "The men were offered and accepted dark uniforms and shoes instead of prison-issued uniforms. Additionally, the group is being kept together in a large holding cell....

"The group has been represented by an ACLU lawyer since 2008. In a phone interview, Bill Sharp told Local 6, 'We're certainly disappointed the judge decided to go forward with the hearing and impose these sentences. Nevertheless, we remain hopeful the Kentucky Supreme Court will decide to hear their appeals.'" (http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Amish-spend-first-day-behind-bars.html)

Sheriff Dewayne Redmond was quoted as saying,"I hate they had to go to jail. But it comes down to their safety and the safety of others."

Now we fast-forward from mid-September to mid-November. "Authorities say a teenager has been killed when the buggy he was driving was hit by a sport-utility vehicle in south-central Kentucky. Kentucky State Police say the horse-drawn buggy did not display a slow-moving sign or reflectors. Police say 18-year-old Aaron Byler of Cub Run was thrown from the buggy and died while being airlifted to a hospital....

"Police say a Chevrolet Blazer struck the buggy from behind. The SUV driver was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released." (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/18/1964454/teen-killed-when-buggy-struck.html)

This could become, if it not already is, a crisis for Amish communities everywhere, even the less strict and conservative ones. It may be a crisis for Hart County, Kentucky, where the accident occurred. It already appears to be a smoldering crisis for Graves County, which jailed the 10 men. Remember that the Civil Liberties Union has lawyers, and they're not afraid to use them.

There are no easy solutions to this problem. Would an orange square alert drivers as well as an orange triangle? Could they use some sort of flashing or strobe light? There must be some safe solution. If this Amish sect says there's no way it will use a triangle, and the police and courts say there's no way you will jeopardize lives, we have a stalemate. Until someone gives in or both compromise, more people may be injured and killed. This needs fast action.

Occupy Wall Street Creates Conflict, But Still Hasn't Created a Message

2011-11-17T10:55:00.005-05:00

We define news at the Institute for Crisis Management as that which creates conflict. News has been defined as man bites dog and in several other ways through the years. But these days, if you don't have conflict, you don't have much of a story.

Occupy Wall Street or Occupy Whatever is a good example. Occupy is the only story I can get on CNN today, as thousands in New York City attempted to shut down the New York Stock Exchange this morning. They couldn't get past the police, so they've been milling about for hours. Some are chanting something that's indiscernible.

"Demonstrators lifted metal barricades that ringed the financial district park in Lower Manhattan, scuffling with authorities and blocking traffic as police reported up to 75 arrests, many of them on streets near the Exchange.... Early Tuesday morning, police swept into the group's former encampment at Zuccotti Park and forcibly evicted demonstrators, a move that was ultimately upheld by a New York State Supreme Court." (http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/us/new-york-occupy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1)

You see? Conflict.

"In Portland, Oregon, plans include 'occupy banks.' 'Let's shut them down!' the organizing website n17pdx.org says. Large groups of demonstrators gathered in front of downtown hotels, carrying placards and chanting 'We are the 99%.'

"In Dallas, CNN affiliate WFAA broadcast images of police sweeping through a downtown area where protesters had been gathering and camping. And in Los Angeles, organizers called for a protest downtown, shutting down an intersection. Large groups of protesters flooded downtown city streets in an apparent standoff with authorities. Events are also planned in Boston, Minneapolis, and other cities."

The protesters want to make news, and politicians and police are obliging them by breaking up camps and making arrests.

And then, there's Oakland. "As the Occupy movement moves to a post-camping phase, left in tatters is the once promising administration of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. Never the favorite of the city’s Downtown establishment, Quan’s response to Occupy’s presence at Frank Ogawa Plaza has permanently destroyed much of her progressive base. Quan will either be recalled or not seek re-election.... The tragedy is that Quan abandoned the collaborative approach that had served her and the city well. Instead, she unilaterally ignored better options for dealing with growing pressure around Occupy." (http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Tragedy_of_Jean_Quan_9698.html)

Meanwhile, in Louisville, Kentucky, where I live: "But even as a wave of police actions this week cleared protest sites in such cities as Oakland, Calif., and New York, Occupy Louisville remains undisturbed. Although the protesters have had to move several times, they now have a permit to camp out in Founders Square until the end of the year... Things were quiet in the park on Monday, as some protesters had left for work or to take part in a student walkout at the University of Louisville." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011311160120)

Joining the protesters in Louisville are homeless people who have found a community and warm food. There are no harsh words from the mayor nor police intimidation, but there are legal permits to camp out and protest and so...no conflict.

However, there's also no message, from either the quiet camps or the disruptive camps. I repeat from earlier blog posts: What is it these people want? There's no leadership. They offer no solutions to economic and other problems they want some unnamed somebody to fix. Closing the stock exchange accomplishes nothing. And do you suppose the economy and job market will improve if protesters successfully shut down a bank for a day? Will Republicans and Democrats kiss and make up and start working for the good of the entire country? Somebody set me straight.

CNN today did as good a job as I've seen trying to capture the point of this two-month protest. "The movement, which is modeled after social-media-driven demonstrations in the Middle East, aims to raise awareness about the role financial institutions played in the continued economic downturn affecting the world markets, and to show their discontent at the lukewarm attempts to prosecute those at fault. Demonstrators are also rallying against the state of the war in Afghanistan, the state of the environment, and a wide array of other domestic and international issues. (http://ireport.cnn.com/open-story.jspa?openStoryID=682030&hpt=hp_t1#DOC-694036)

The whole thing reminds me of Li'l Abner, a satirical comic strip by Al Capp from 1934-1977. During the 1960's era of protests, he created S.W.I.N.E. (Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything).

In PR 101, we learned to identify our key messages, but limit them to one or two or no more than three. If S.W.I.N.E. -- I mean Occupy Wall Street -- has any good ideas for change, we'll never hear them in their cacophony of indignation about nearly everything.

Dust Explosions Are Common and Should Be in Your Crisis Communications Plan if There Is Even a Remote Risk

2011-11-16T14:02:00.005-05:00

I wrote on November 1 about a dust explosion at a grain elevator in Kansas that killed six people. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/11/grain-dust-explosion-in-kansas-kills.html) It seems dust explosions happen more frequently than they should. In fact, OSHA has been chastised in the past for not emphasizing dust explosion prevention.

That's not really my area of expertise -- unless it's to reassure myself that management takes the risk seriously. My main responsibility is to ensure I am prepared to communicate if an explosion were to occur. Such blasts can come with loss of lives, damage so severe the facility goes out of business, a community that loses a major employer either temporarily or permanently, suppliers who lose a customer, customers who lose a supplier, family members in mourning, civil suits, and maybe even criminal suits.

Clearly there can be many aftershocks for a long time. If you work for a company where dust explosions are a possibility, how well does your crisis communications plan prepare you to respond quickly and with the appropriate talking points?

"Not all dusts are combustible. Some, such as sand, cement and rock are typically not combustible. Organic dusts such as plant dusts are combustible. These include a wide variety of materials, such as sugar, flour, grain, linens, etc. Many synthetic organic materials, such as plastics, organic pigments and pesticides, are combustible. Coal and peat are combustible, as are some metals, such as aluminum, magnesium, zinc and iron.

"The proper conditions must exist to realize a dust cloud deflagration or explosion. The dust must be of the proper size. A material must be of the correct particle size to enter into an explosive reaction." (http://www.matrixrc.com/documents/Dust_Explosions.pdf)

And of course there has to be a source of ignition. "Ignition sources may include smoldering or burning dusts; open flames from welding, cutting, matches or lighters; hot surfaces, such as heaters, ovens, furnaces or hot bearings; heat from mechanical impact; and electrical discharges or arcs." Sometimes, even a lightening strike nearby may be all it takes.

A plant where I worked once had two explosions in the same unit within a week. Both received media attention. We were ready to explain that we were investigating the incidents, that we had made a thorough cleaning of the area, and that the explosion doors opened as they were designed, thus minimizing damage. This could have turned into a bigger story, but no one followed up for any day-2 updates. Either something less boring was going on in town or assignment editors thought explosions without injuries or damage just weren't very sexy.

The point is we were ready to gather the information we needed from managers and plant emergency responders, we had the right answers and said the right things. You might not be so lucky if you suffer injuries or fatalities. Your plan needs to take that into account.

Be sure your crisis communications plan contains holding statements, general talking points for after you know more, and a list of key stakeholders including the best way to reach each of them and a priority timing list to make sure you take care of the key-most of your key stakeholders first.

Ohio House Explodes, Gas Company Asks, 'What Explosion?'

2011-11-15T10:37:00.004-05:00

Work was under way on a water line at a house in Fairborn, Ohio last weekend. According to the AP, workers hit a gas line, causing an explosion that killed a man and injured six others, including four children.

"A 13-year-old was transferred in critical condition to Shriner's Hospital for Children, one of about four hospitals in the country specializing in pediatric burns, said spokeswoman Louise Holker.... The 1-year-old baby was in fair condition and a 5-year-old was in good condition Sunday morning, a spokesman for Dayton Children's Medical Center said. A third child, whose age wasn't available, was treated and released Saturday." (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-11-13/ohio-house-explosion-death/51185856/1)

I would have expected a statement of sympathy from Vectren, the gas company, and words to the affect that the company was cooperating in the investigation and that it was paying the bills for those burned children.

Instead, I can't even read Vectren's news releases without subscribing first. (https://www.vectrenenergy.com/web/holding/discover/media/media_room_i.jsp) There's no statement of sympathy or cooperation with authorities. Instead, "Chase Kelley, a spokeswoman for Vectren Corp., said it hasn't been confirmed that there was a gas leak and the company would likely conduct its own investigation into the cause of the explosion." (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-11-13/ohio-house-explosion-death/51185856/1)

Now there's a company with a big heart, eh?

"A woman who lived about 100 yards from the Ohio home that exploded, Cybil Poole, told the Dayton Daily News that the blast felt like a car hitting it. She said she saw the infant lying in the yard and that some of the other victims were still on fire....

"Another neighbor, Paula Corelli, told the newspaper that she was almost hit by a flying piece of wood from the explosion. When she saw two adults running down the sidewalk carrying three bloodied children, she offered to take them while the adults returned to the scene."

Meanwhile, Vectren stands with hands in pocket, whistling, and looking aimlessly in the other direction. Maybe it wasn't natural gas that exploded. But either way, the company should at least pretend that it cares about those burned babies. The civil suits will come flying faster than the debris.

Sticking to My Story: Trustees Threw Paterno to the Lions Just To Appease the Crowd

2011-11-12T09:55:00.007-05:00

I thought I was done writing about Penn State, but the latest developments in the underage-sex scandal are worth addressing. I continue in my view that Joe Paterno was fired merely for symbolic reasons. Others who witnessed or were told about Jerry Sandusky with boys have been ignored unless they are prominent figures at PSU. Comments to my Facebook posting and opinions from sports columnists and secular editors alike show me to be in the minority on the subject.

Some columnists are even calling for Penn State to suspend the rest of its football season (must be Michigan State fans or something). Why in the world would you want to punish today's players for something that happened 11 years ago? Dumb suggestion.

But on the ESPN crawler last night, a trustee was quoted as admitting that firing Paterno was meant only to quell the "public furor."

I kept wondering in past blogs and conversations why the witness who told Paterno about Sandusky and a boy in the shower remained untouched through all this. Assistant receivers coach Mike McQueary is untouched no longer. He has been placed on paid administrative leave, but he told the team via speakerphone Friday that he was done as their coach. Why would an eye witness receive better treatment than Paterno, who vaguely remembers McQueary telling him about Sandusky and a boy without specifically mentioning the sexual nature of their "horsing around."

"(Interim) President Rod Erickson notified McQueary of the decision to place him on administrative leave Friday, a day after the school said the receivers coach would not be present Saturday when the Nittany Lions play Nebraska because he has received threats. Asked if McQueary was placed on leave for his conduct or to ensure his safety, Erickson said it was 'a complicated situation....'

"Asked if McQueary would be fired, Erickson said 'There are complexities to that issue that I am not prepared to go into at this point.'"
(http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7221182/penn-state-nittany-lions-mike-mcqueary-placed-administrative-leave-interim-president-says)

Those "complexities" may involve whistleblower protection. "Stephen Kohn, the executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center in Washington, D.C., (said) that reporting the incident to Paterno alone could be enough to protect McQueary from being dismissed under the state's whistle-blower law.

"'You have to look at where the employee is on the totem pole,' Kohn said. 'There are different expectations at different levels. A manager versus an employee. A student versus a teacher. It's just how it goes. The last thing you want to do is create an environment where people don't even tell the supervisor.'" (http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7219659/penn-state-assistant-coach-whistleblower-protection-reporting-sandusky-alleged-incident)

I'll buy that last sentence, but I still contend that McQueary did the same thing as Paterno: communicate up the organizational chain without telling the police.

Meanwhile, at the Paterno residence, JoePa hired a prominent attorney out of fear of potential civil suits against him.

"On Friday, Paterno's son Scott said he had retained prominent Washington D.C. attorney J. Sedwick Sollers, of the law firm of King & Spalding. He also announced that that on Sollers' advice, the Paterno family will make no further public statements on the scandal." ((http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7221182/penn-state-nittany-lions-mike-mcqueary-placed-administrative-leave-interim-president-says))

That's too bad. I think Paterno has said the right things. Scott Paterno did well yesterday, too.

"'Like everyone who has watched this story unfold, my father is experiencing a range of powerful emotions. He is absolutely distraught over what happened to the children and their families. He also wants very much to speak publicly and answer questions,' Scott Paterno said. 'At this stage, however, he has no choice but to be patient and defer to the legal process. He cooperated fully with the grand jury and he will continue to cooperate with the investigation as we move forward.'"

ESPN's Brian Bennett, in his Big 10 blog, provided a brief but I think accurate assessment of the way the university has handled communications during the past week while he wrote of interim head coach Tom Bradley's first news conference.

"For someone who admitted he hadn't slept in the past 24 hours, Bradley handled a very difficult press conference about as well as anyone could expect. That in itself was an accomplishment. Penn State had spent the previous five days bungling every possible public relations opportunity, from president Graham Spanier's ridiculous statement of 'unconditional support' on Saturday, to the last-minute cancellation of Paterno's Tuesday press conference to Wednesday night's chaotic free-for-all when the board of trustees announced the dismissal of Spanier and Paterno. About the only people who have acquitted themselves well in this whole mess so far have been the players who spoke to the media on Wednesday and Bradley." (http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/38233/bradley-gets-dream-job-amidst-nightmare)

Postscript: One of the people privy to a campus police department detective's investigation of Sandusky in 1998 was the county district attorney. Despite the evidence, he declined to press charges. My friend Mark commented on Facebook about a mystery surrounding that attorney. "The DA went 'missing' in 2005 all they found was his car and laptop - minus the hard drive....... hmmmmmmmmmmmm."

Paterno's Firing a Premature Knee-Jerk Response to Those Seeking Blood

2011-11-10T10:40:00.006-05:00

Most of the public reaction I hear and read to Joe Paterno's firing last night seems to be that the board of trustees acted responsibly and did what it had to do. I, on the other hand, would have joined the thousands of students who protested across campus following the announcement.

Paterno did nothing illegal, according to the grand jury that investigated child sex abuse on campus. He reported what a graduate assistant said he saw in the shower to his boss, Athletic Director Tim Curley, and to Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, whose responsibilities included overseeing the campus police. They in turn met with President Graham Spanier and told him Sandusky was "horsing around" with a younger child in the shower. Spanier denied he was told the incident was sexual.

JoePa announced earlier in the day that he would retire at the end of the season. That's three games, probably the Big 10 championship, and a bowl game. It seems like 46 years and 409 wins should buy a man five more games.

I wrote a couple days ago that more bloodshed could be expected because no communications would make this furor die down. The trustees picked the two biggest names on campus for their bloodbath last night: Paterno and Spanier.

The sharks now have their victims. Maybe they'll swim away.

Rodney Erickson, interim president, has a statement on the Penn State website. "In addition to the legal process under way, Penn State's Board of Trustees has authorized a full investigation.... As those involved pursue their cases, I also urge you, as Penn Staters, to be patient, to avoid speculation, and to refrain from passing judgment until the facts are known." (http://live.psu.edu/wire/4)

The trustees apparently didn't get that memo.

During the board of trustees news conference last night, someone asked, if the board doesn't have all the facts, how can it justify declaring Paterno guilty? There was only a wishy-washy, stuttering stock answer.

Here's something else I don't understand. The first-hand witness who reported what he saw to Paterno isn't being prosecuted. In fact, he wasn't even mentioned by name in the grand jury report. (http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2011/1107/espn_e_Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment.pdf) How then can you fire Paterno who was aware that something sordid he never saw went on in the shower? That witness was Mike McQueary (No, I didn't make that name up), who is still on staff at Penn State as assistant coach of wide receivers and recruiting coordinator. Why not go after the man with first-hand knowledge? After all, he didn't call police. He told Paterno and then the matter was out of his hands. It's the same lack of action that cost Coach his job.

Others were more aware of what was going on than was Paterno or Spanier. The mother of one of the young victims notified campus police in 1998 of Sandusky's inappropriate behavior with her son. After a "lengthy" investigation by University Police Detective Ronald Shreffler, the county district attorney didn't press charges, and the director of campus police, Thomas Harmon, ordered Shreffler to drop the investigation.

In 1998, Sandusky admitted to Jerry Lauro, an investigator with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, that he hugged a boy while naked in the shower and acknowledged it was wrong. Lauro did nothing.

In 2000, a janitor named Jim Calhoun witnessed Sandusky performing oral sex on a boy in the shower. He told the rest of the janitorial staff. He also told Ronald Petrosky, who had seen the two leave holding hands. Calhoun was in tears. Yet none of them reported the incident, allegedly out of fear for their jobs. Calhoun also told his immediate supervisor, Jay Witherite. Not a single one reported the event to police or child welfare. Not a single one is being prosecuted or persecuted.

If you are keeping score, not one janitor or assistant football coach or campus detective or district attorney or welfare investigator has been fired nor has made the news, not even the eye witnesses. But bloodied are the athletic director, a senior vice president, the university president, and the head football coach. All this, and the trustees have yet to even select the investigation committee. That's right, Interim President Erickson: "refrain from passing judgment until the facts are known."

I wrote yesterday that I hadn't heard a peep out of President Spanier. As I was writing that, he was posting a lengthy message on the Penn State website. A few hours later, he was fired. He stated, "Our great university has been rocked by serious charges against a former coach. The presentment by the Attorney General describes acts that should never be tolerated or ignored. I was stunned and outraged to learn that any predatory act might have occurred in a University facility or by someone associated with the University.... I would never hesitate to report a crime if I had any suspicion that one had been committed." (http://live.psu.edu/story/56308#rss49)

Now he's history anyway.

Poor communications and failure to act. That's a deadly combination that creates smoldering crises. For thoughts on how a Management Early Warning System (MEWS) might have prevented this crisis, or at least minimized it, see Larry Smith's blog on the subject yesterday at http://www.crisisconsultants.blogspot.com/.

Joe Paterno Will Retire; President Spanier -- Who Knows?

2011-11-09T15:21:00.005-05:00

Word is out today that Penn State's Joe Paterno will retire at the end of this season. Whether the board of trustees allows him to remain football coach that long is still an open question.

Walt asked following yesterday's Penn State post below: "Do you find it disturbing that the PSU president has been silent on this to date?"

The answer is yes. I haven't heard a peep. President Graham Spanier continues with his best Harpo Marx impersonation. He's probably laying low because ultimately, the proverbial buck stops with him. Paterno reported what he heard second-hand up the chain of command. Spanier apparently did nothing. His job is on the line, and rightly so.

The board of trustees has spoken up. It released a statement Tuesday that said:

"The Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University is outraged by the horrifying details contained in the Grand Jury Report. As parents, alumni and members of the Penn State Community, our hearts go out to all of those impacted by these terrible events, especially the tragedies involving children and their families. We cannot begin to express the combination of sorrow and anger that we feel about the allegations surrounding Jerry Sandusky. We hear those of you who feel betrayed and we want to assure all of you that the Board will take swift, decisive action.

"At its regular meeting on Friday, November 11, 2011, the Board will appoint a Special Committee, members of which are currently being identified, to undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the Grand Jury Report. This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again and that those responsible are held fully accountable. The Special Committee will have whatever resources are necessary to thoroughly fulfill its charge, including independent counsel and investigative teams, and there will be no restrictions placed on its scope or activities. Upon the completion of this investigation, a complete report will be presented at a future public session of the Board of Trustees.

"Penn State has always strived for honesty, integrity and the highest moral standards in all of its programs. We will not tolerate any violation of these principles. We educate over 95,000 students every year and we take this responsibility very seriously. We are dedicated to protecting those who are placed in our care. We promise you that we are committed to restoring public trust in the University." (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7209890/penn-state-nittany-lions-sex-abuse-scandal-board-trustees-meeting-scandal)

Well said! No matter whether Spanier is guilty of wrongdoing or not, his silence is telling. He should make a statement of regret toward the boys and pledge his and the university's full cooperation. He doesn't need to take questions or say anything more. But he should have said that much by now.

Times Says Penn State Scandal Will Be the End of Joe Paterno's Reign

2011-11-08T14:23:00.008-05:00

I've been a fan of Penn State and Coach Joe Paterno for as long as I can remember since I was a kid. The sex abuse scandal and failure to report it that rocks the campus now is like watching the slow death of a dear old friend.

The New York Times reported just moments ago, "Joe Paterno’s tenure as coach of the Penn State football team will soon be over, perhaps within days or weeks.... The board of trustees has yet to determine the precise timing of Paterno’s exit, but it is clear that the man who has more victories than any other coach at college football’s top level and who made Penn State a prestigious national brand will not survive to coach another season. Discussions about how to manage his departure have begun, according to the two people."

As you probably know, Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator under Paterno, has been charged with sexually abusing eight boys within a 15-year span. Paterno has not been named in the investigation, but has been criticized for failing to involve the police when he was told of an assault against a young boy in 2002.

So far, Gary Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business, and Tim Curley, athletic director, have been charged with perjury and failure to report the alleged abuses to authorities as required by state law. Both resigned from their positions. Penn State President Graham Spanier, like Paterno, has come under scrutiny for failure to take action about Sandusky's alleged child abuse.

Penn State cancelled Paterno's weekly news conference at noon today. Paterno reported later that he wanted to face the media, but others at Penn State called off the event.

"On Monday law enforcement officials said that Paterno had met his legal obligation in alerting his superiors at the university when he learned of the 2002 allegation against Sandusky. But they suggested he might well have failed a moral test...."

Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated has a good sense of this crisis and how it should never have happened. "Today, Penn State looks precisely like the Catholic Church looked for so many years. There were accusations of pedophilia. The allegations were so horrific that they threatened to undermine the reputation of the institution. The people in charge should have brought the allegations to light. But they were more worried about how the institution would look than the values it is supposed to uphold....

"Paterno will apparently avoid charges in this case. But his reign at Penn State will end poorly, just as Woody Hayes' reign at Ohio State ended poorly, and as Bob Knight's reign at Indiana ended poorly. In all three cases, you could see a lousy ending coming -- though of course, it was hard to imagine this particular lousy ending.

"There is no joy in saying that. But there is no joy anywhere in this awful story. Strip away the fame, the money and the popularity of Penn State's football program, and you have a sordid allegation that demanded a powerful response from powerful people."

But no response was made. Now there is no communication that will clear up this mess. The way to appease critics, which include alumni, donors, students, and future students, is for more blood to hit the floor. People who allowed the deviant behavior to continue for years will be fired. Will that mean the end to the Joe Paterno dynasty? Personally, I hope not. Realistically, I hope he can last out the season and retire after Penn State's bowl game. The winningest coach in football history, who has donated millions of dollars to the university, deserves at least that much dignity.

Cain's Lesson a Good One for All: Don't Copy His Strategy to Make a Scandal Go Away

2011-11-08T13:19:00.008-05:00

I feel like I need to weigh in on the Herman Cain campaign crisis. He hasn't done much so far to right his listing ship. In Larry Smith's Institute for Crisis Management blog last week, he wrote, "It’s not the right example, but it certainly is a teaching moment, not only for politicians, but for executives at every level of a business or organization." (http://www.crisisconsultants.blogspot.com/)

Cain not only remains in denial, but he blames others for this distraction. He started out blaming Rick Perry's camp for leaking the news. Then it was the media's fault. His strategy for answering reporters' questions about the sexual harassment allegations is to pass out copies of the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics. How dare these reporters focus on a scandal! His latest tactic is to blame an alleged victim.

According to columnist Ruth Marcus, "Reporter-bashing is always a handy tactic, especially when you don’t have the facts on your side.... 'There are too many people in the media who are downright dishonest,' Cain said. 'They do a disservice to the American people.'

"Spare me the lectures about honesty from a man who denied that he was aware of a financial payment to settle the sexual harassment claims, then acknowledged it, then said he was distinguishing between a 'settlement' and an 'agreement.'” (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111108/OPINION04/311080017/Ruth-Marcus-Reporting-Cain-has-not-been-witch-hunt-)

At first, Cain's response was to admit he was only vaguely familiar with a harassment complaint, then later remembered commenting on a woman’s height one time.

So far, he categorically denies allegations by the one of four alleged victims who went public. How many politicians, when faced with some past transgression, don't start out denying it ever happened? But Cain errs again when he takes his denial one step further and attacks the character of his accuser. In an e-mail to supporters, Cain's campaign wrote, "The fact is that Ms. Bialek has had a long and troubled history, from the courts to personal finances - which may help explain why she has come forward 14 years after an alleged incident with Mr. Cain, powered by celebrity attorney and long term Democrat donor Gloria Allred." (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57320568-503544/herman-cain-seeks-to-salvage-reputation-as-scandal-continues/)

Bill Clinton faced a similar crisis during his campaign when Jennifer Flowers accused him of having an affair with her. But Clinton defused the crisis. He and Hillary went on TV and Clinton admitted to making a serious mistake he deeply regretted. We all know how the Democratic Convention and November election turned out.

Cain might not be so fortunate. He will hold a news conference at 5 p.m. EST today. I'll be interested to see if he changes his strategy. He needs to. "Meanwhile, it's impossible to know what other accusations could emerge if Cain doesn't clear the air. In the latest story, one former government employee came forward on Tuesday to say she found Cain's motives suspicious when he asked her to help arrange a dinner date between him and a young woman, the Washington Examiner reports."

What should Cain say at today's news conference? If he listened to ICM's Smith, his statement would go something like this: "You’ve seen me speak and interact with staff and supporters and voters. Sometimes my attempt at humor succeeds and sometimes it doesn’t. There were two co-workers at NRA that apparently miss-interpreted something I said or did. At the time I said I didn’t mean to offend anyone, and I can say it again – if I offended either of those two ladies or anyone else, forgive me. I love my wife, I don’t need anyone but her." Read more at http://crisisconsultants.blogspot.com/2011/11/mr-cain-continues-to-set-example.html.

'Deadly Consequences of a Child Welfare System That Has Completely Insulated Itself From Meaningful Public Scrutiny'

2011-11-08T12:12:00.006-05:00

I wrote yesterday about how failure to release information gives the appearance that one has something to hide. Today I present Exhibit B.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Human Services has long held out against Freedom of Information Act requests for records. The cabinet claims it is protecting the privacy of its clients. Maybe. But more important, it seems to be protecting against public knowledge of its mistakes.

"A Franklin Circuit Court judge blasted state officials Monday for ignoring suspected prior abuse of a 9-year-old Western Kentucky girl beaten to death by her adoptive brother, saying they turned a “blind eye” to repeated reports of her horrific mistreatment.

"In his second such order in four days, Judge Phillip Shepherd ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release records of child abuse death investigations — this time in the case of the Feb. 4 murder of Amythz 'Amy' Dye. State officials have repeatedly refused to release such records, citing confidentiality." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111107/NEWS01/311070081/State-blasted-Western-Kentucky-girl-s-slaying?odyssey=tabtopnewstextHome)

Cabinet officials are the ones who approved Amy’s adoptive home in Todd County after removing her from her birth parents because of “severe neglect and sexual abuse.”

“'This case presents a tragic example of the potentially deadly consequences of a child welfare system that has completely insulated itself from meaningful public scrutiny,' Shepherd said in his order. 'The Open Records Act is the only method available by which the public and the legislature can obtain information regarding the systematic breakdown of our child protective services that contributed so directly to this child’s death.'”

Spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said the cabinet is reviewing the order. Here's the kind of dirt the public might uncover if it has access to Health and Family Services case histories:

"Garrett Dye, 17, Amy’s adoptive brother, pleaded guilty Oct. 21 in Todd Circuit Court to murdering her on Feb. 4 by beating her in the head with a jack handle. At the time, she was outside on a cold, snowy evening shoveling gravel as punishment for stealing pudding and juice from a friend’s lunch box at school, Shepherd’s order said....

"After Amy’s death, police found the girl’s clothes in a dresser in a trailer outside the house, Shepherd’s order said. It said Amy sometimes soiled her clothes because of poor bowel control, and when she did, her adoptive mother — as punishment — forced her to go outside for clean clothes."

Nevertheless, the cabinet "turned a 'blind eye' to repeated reports of her horrific mistreatment," according to Shepherd.

This is the kind of tragedy that comes from secrecy. Some business secrets are worth protecting and must remain inhouse. The safety of children placed in the cabinet's care outweighs any feeble claims of client confidentiality.

Be careful about what you keep confidential and what the public and other stakeholders have a need to know.

You Should Have No Secrets When You Have Nothing to Hide

2011-11-07T13:35:00.006-05:00

One of the major stories in Louisville, Kentucky, this year has been a proposed hospital merger of University Hospital (affiliated with the University of Louisville, but more on that later), Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare, and Lexington’s St. Joseph Health System. The merger would create Kentucky's largest health care network, and proponents claim it would improve health statewide and lead to better trained physicians, a role University fills.

No one would be paying much attention, except that the merged hospitals will be under the direction of Catholic Health Initiatives, considered a ministry of the Catholic church. That means they would have to follow Catholic directives covering Vatican no-no's such as sterilizations, abortions, birth control, and euthanasia. The area Bishops won't approve a merger otherwise.

No where are Catholic directives any more controversial than at University Hospital, the safety net for the poor and uninsured. Part of the controversy involves the question of whether University Hospital, with its connections to a public university, is a private or public facility.

"Legal experts say if University is a public hospital, the merger could run afoul of the First Amendment's prohibition against government favoring any religion. Several watchdog groups have questioned the merger because of that issue. U of L and University Hospital maintain the hospital is private because it is operated by a nonprofit corporation, University Medical Center Inc. But several elected officials disagree, and Attorney General Jack Conway ruled recently that UMC is a public agency.' http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courier_journal/access/2494721301.html?FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&fmac=f10b7ae69f2d041a9c3c286c06d01411&date=Oct+25%2C+2011&author=&pub=&desc=Hospital+merger+stance+softens)

The private/public controversy appears headed for court. Here is where open communications come into question.

"University Hospital has filed a lawsuit against The Courier-Journal, the American Civil Liberties Union, WHAS-TV and people associated with those organizations to overturn Attorney General Jack Conway’s ruling last month that it is a public entity. The suit, filed Friday in Jefferson Circuit Court, seeks to avoid turning over documents requested by those organizations under Kentucky’s open records law." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011311050113)

Why, I wondered, was the hospital being secretive about turning its documents over to the news media? “'All of the parties operate in highly competitive markets where they would be unfairly disadvantaged if their competitors could learn about their internal workings and strategic initiatives,' the lawsuit says."

I've never worked directly in the health care industry. But it seems to me that patients show up, you make them well, you send them home. What "strategic initiatives?"

What could be in those documents that is either so secretive or so embarrassing? By taking the attorney general's opinion to court and stiff-arming efforts to open its books to the public, University Hospital is taking on the appearance of an organization that has something to hide. It seems like some deep, dark secrets -- perhaps back-room negotiations with the Catholics or criticisms of certain entities, for instance? -- are being protected.

Attempts at secrecy, whatever your business, make you appear to be hiding something from your stakeholders. It's a given that competitive information and business plans are off limits. But in this case, whether University Hospital is private or public, it appears to be hiding something juicy. When you are in the midst of a crisis, remember the lesson of University Hospital. Be as up front and honest as you can, yet without baring all. Wear a fig leaf but not much more.

Corzine the Wrong Kind of CEO in a Crisis

2011-11-06T10:20:00.005-05:00

This development in the MF Global bankruptcy and FBI investigation may be sort-of old news by now. But it's worth a mention as a follow-up to the blog post I write on November 2, below.

Jon Corzine resigned Friday as CEO. This is the same Corzine who was once a Senator, a governor, and a trader for Goldman Sachs who lost $150 million of his employer's money on some gambles that didn't pay off. He later earned the money back, but other risky trades cost the firm almost $2 billion.

"Corzine, 64, is in the midst of a professional meltdown that began when he bet heavily on European debt, and lost. As head of MF Global, he pushed for the $6.3 billion gamble on debt issued by Italy, Spain and other European nations with troubled economies that ultimately doomed the securities firm he took over last year.

"The company filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, after a presale audit revealed potentially millions in missing client funds, scaring off a potential buyer. MF Global was in court Tuesday, asking a judge to allow it to borrow $8 million to finance the bankruptcy. By that night, the FBI and federal prosecutors had gotten involved." (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/corzine-risk-hand-hand-14876339)

The AP story by Angela Delli Santi calls Corzine, "Ambitious. Impatient. Stubborn. Highly tolerant of risk. The personality traits that helped Jon Corzine move...to the heights of power on Wall Street and in New Jersey politics also may be partially responsible for his spectacular downfalls in government and finance."

A crisis communicator would have become quickly frustrated working for Corzine, based on the picture the AP paints of him. "Supporters and detractors agree that on issues big and small, Corzine is not one to heed the counsel of others or surround himself with a wide circle of advisers. His extreme self-confidence can come off as stubbornness."

If you have the misfortune of working for a boss like this, you better either adopt an Alfred E. Newman attitude of "What? Me worry?" or find another employer who will listen to your advice and take seriously your crisis communications plan.

Cabot Oil & Gas Is a Lesson in Transparency on the Web

2011-11-04T14:45:00.006-04:00

The airwaves have been crowded of late with oil and gas companies boasting of the benefits natural gas provides -- not in the companies' profit and loss statements, which is the real thrust behind the ads of course, but in providing jobs along with a steady supply of "safe, clean natural gas."

Much of this gas is being fracked in my home state of Pennsylvania. The reports of contaminated water bring me pause when considering whether this mining technique, which involves blasting millions of gallons of water and chemicals into the ground to free oil previously inaccessible, is environmentally sound.

One thing that is sound is the website of Cabot Oil & Gas, which is heavily involved in extracting Appalachian gas. What led me to the website was a story about an environmental oops and the ensuing battle.

"Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has been delivering water to homes in the northeastern Pennsylvania village of Dimock since January 2009. The Houston-based energy company asserts Dimock's water is safe to drink and won regulatory permission last month to stop the water deliveries by the end of November....

"Regulators previously found that Cabot drilled faulty gas wells that allowed methane to escape into Dimock's aquifer. The company denied responsibility, but has been banned from drilling in a 9-square-mile area of Dimock since April 2010.

"A December 2010 agreement between the agency and Cabot required the company to offer residential treatment systems that remove methane from the residents' water, and to pay them twice the assessed tax value of their homes. A half-dozen treatment systems have been installed, and Cabot said they are effective at removing the gas. The agreement does not make the company liable for any chemicals or metals that have turned up in the residents' water, nor does it require the company to treat the water for anything other than methane.... Residents who are suing Cabot have appealed the settlement. They favor an earlier, scuttled DEP plan that would have forced Cabot to pay nearly $12 million to connect their homes to a municipal water line." (http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/11/04/1865644/ap-lawyers-demand-water-for-tainted.html)

I wanted to see what, if anything, Cabot posted on its website regarding the agreement last winter and suspension of that agreement recently. What I found surprised me and is worth a look from any company afraid to communicate.

Among a long list of mostly financial releases is one announcing the settlement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (http://www.cabotog.com/news.html) The real treasure lies under the Community Tab, the Susquehanna County subtab, and the Surveys, Studies, and Settlements sub-sub tab. There you will find a wealth of information. (http://www.cabotog.com/comm_surveys.html)

At the top of the list is a copy of the letter from the state that granted Cabot at least a partial out from the responsibilities of the December agreement. What follows (I hope you will at least skim this list to get an idea of what Cabot has posted) is this:

Water Well Summary (PDF)
-- Posted October 19, 2011

A summary of the findings from numerous tests conducted on water wells in the Dimock area.

Water Well Summary Data (PDF)
-- Posted October 19, 2011

Summary of the water well data presented to the Department of Environmental Protection on October 17, 2011

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gas Well Data
Gas Well Summary (PDF)
-- Posted October 19, 2011

A summary of the findings from numerous tests conducted on gas wells in the Dimock area.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consent Order and Settlement Agreement (COSA)
Cabot’s Letter to DEP – October 17, 2011 (PDF)
-- Posted October 19, 2011

Data Presentation to the DEP (PDF)
-- Posted October 19, 2011

All of the data presented to the Department of Environmental Protection on October 17, 2011

Original COSA (PDF)

Settlement agreement issued on December 15, 2010 between Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in regards to the Dimock/Carter Road Gas Wells.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sautner Data
Sautner Data (PDF) 2008 to August 2011
-- Posted October 11, 2011

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Water Test
URS Cabot Plaintiff Letter (PDF) - Posted August 3, 2011
Focused Site Assessment Analytical Data Switzer (PDF)
Focused Site Assessment Analytical Data Sautner (PDF)

Switzer Water Test Data (PDF) - Posted August 3, 2011
Switzer Water Test Data - Part 2 (PDF) - Posted August 3, 2011
Sautner Water Test (PDF) - Posted August 3, 2011

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cabot/DEP Global Settlement Document
Cabot/DEP Global Settlement document (PDF)
Settlement agreement issued on December 15, 2010 between Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in regards to the Dimock/Carter Road Gas Wells.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Water Well Test Data and Press Release
Water Well Test Data and Press Release (PDF)
Results of the well water test performed on 14 wells in Dimock and the accompanying press release explain the findings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robert W. Watson Information

White Paper - Robert W. Watson PhD PE (PDF)
Report of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation's Utilization of Effective Techniques for Protecting Fresh Water Zones/Horizons During Natural Gas Drilling – Completion and Plugging Activities

Robert W. Watson Full Report (PDF)

The complete 26-page report by Dr. Watson

There's a lot of material here and, sure, it's self-serving. But after seeing so many companies in crisis whose websites are all sunshine and butterflies without referencing the crisis, Cabot's openness truly is sunshine. Your website should be this filled with documents and information. It could help keep the "ambivalents" on the fence, or maybe even push them over to the "advocates" side.

To ignore a public issue involving your company isn't going to win love from any of your stakeholders. Open communications just might help you weather your next crisis.

MF Goldman Juggles Multiple Crises

2011-11-02T10:39:00.004-04:00

How's this for a crisis: The FBI is investigating you to see whether you were dishonest or merely sloppy. There doesn't appear to be a choice C. You've declared bankruptcy. Your best-case scenario is that everyone in the company can stay out of prison.

That's the crisis facing investment broker MF Global.

"'The question with MF Global is going to be: Was this fraudulent or was it sloppy paperwork and sloppy oversight?' (Brian) Gardner (Keefe, Bruyette & Woods) said. 'I think there are going to be lots of questions for CME and CFTC and a lot of good congressional hearings.'" (http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/news/economy/mf_global_fbi_investigation/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=hp_bn5)

It's too late to hope for good management well communicated to make this crisis disappear. Instead, the company has to seek ways to minimize the damage and, perhaps, emerge with at least a remnant of the company still in place.

MF Global's website has a disclaimer at the very top, advising that liquidation-only orders are being accepted. Two separate links from the home page take readers to a five-line news release announcing the bankruptcy filing. (http://www.mfglobal.com/)

If you're into finance, here's what went wrong: "MF Global's downfall has been attributed to, among other things, making bad bets on some $6.3 billion of European government debt. When those bets went sour and its financial troubles worsened, MF Global may have tapped its clients' money, according to the Wall Street Journal. It's unclear how the money may have been used.

"Using clients' money to help its own bottom line through risky bets would violate Commodities Futures Trading Commission rules on such trades, according to regulators and financial experts."
Clearly the jury -- and the FBI -- is still out on this one, and almost certainly will be for many months. Meanwhile, MF Global's employees and clients remain in limbo. Dishonest or sloppy, the FBI, and bankruptcy. This will be a tough crisis to survive. I would advise, as always, transparency and cooperation. Instead, "MF Global did not return requests for comment."

Grain Dust Explosion in Kansas Kills Six; No Website

2011-11-01T15:37:00.007-04:00

An apparent dust explosion at a Bartlett Grain Company silo Saturday night shook the town of Atchison, Kansas (population 11,000) in more ways than one. Six people died in the blast, four of them under the age of 25.

"The blast, which shook the ground so hard that it was felt into neighboring Missouri, is a harrowing reminder of the dangers workers face inside elevators brimming with highly combustible grain dust at the end of the harvest season. The explosion on Saturday night at the elevator in Atchison sent an orange fireball into the night sky, shot off a chunk of the grain distribution building directly above the elevator and blew a large hole in the side of the one of its concrete silos." (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055337/Kansas-grain-elevator-explosion-Search-stopped-factory-3-left-missing.html)

Bartlett issued a statement. In it, "senior vice president Bob Knief said the company’s thoughts and prayers are with the affected families. 'This is a horrible day for the families. It is extremely sorrowful for the rest of us as well,' he said." (http://www.kansascity.com/2011/10/31/3241110/final-three-victims-of-atchison.html)

I wish I could read the entire statement. I naturally went looking first to Bartlett's website. What website? Based on my Google search, there isn't one. I can't judge how well the company is communicating with loved ones, the two badly injured employees who survived, the mourning farming community, employees at other locations, civic leaders, and shareholders assuming it's a publicly traded company.

Grain elevator operators need to be wary.

"Over the past four decades, there have more than 600 explosions at grain elevators, killing more than 250 people and injuring more than 1,000, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Just last year, there were grain explosions or fires in several states including Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota and Louisiana. None were fatal, but several sent workers scrambling and one in Toledo, Ohio in September 2010 forced people to evacuate from a nearby mobile home park." (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055337/Kansas-grain-elevator-explosion-Search-stopped-factory-3-left-missing.html)

If you find a website for Bartlett Grains, let me know. (I thought I found one, but it was for an Australian company of the same name.) I want to see how the company is dealing with the tragedy publicly -- if it is at all.

Watch for tightened inspections and regulations, as happened in the coal industry I wrote about below. "OSHA has expanded its inspections and efforts to control volatile grain dust in Kansas elevators since an explosion in 1998 at DeBruce Grain, Inc.'s facility in Haysville, which killed seven workers and injured 10 others, said Tom Tunnell, executive director of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, the industry group representing Kansas grain elevators.

"He said the industry as a whole has increased awareness of the dangers since a number of elevator explosions along the Gulf in the 1970s."

Another awareness lesson may be called for here, for the sake of saving lives.

Qantas Grounds Flights, Court Orders Planes to Fly Again

2011-10-31T14:11:00.004-04:00

I didn't understand what Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was doing when, late last week, he grounded all flights as a result of growing labor unrest. The lockout cost the company $20 million a day. But now his strategy is being hailed by some as genius.

With all flights grounded, affecting 70,000 passengers a day and 32,500 employees, an Australian arbitration court intervened over the weekend and ordered Qantas to resume flights.

"Joyce praised the outcome, which prevents unions from taking any further strike action over their demands for pay hikes and job security clauses under new contracts being negotiated. The strikes have been blamed for a sharp decline in the airline's future bookings.

"'The important thing is that all industrial action is now over and we have certainty,' Joyce told reporters in Sydney.

"'It was a very shrewd move by their CEO to force the issue and stop the potential deterioration of the brand,' said Mo Garfinkle, an airline consultant who has worked for Qantas rival Virgin Australia. 'In the end, it will benefit Qantas financially.'" (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9QMVVUO0.htm)

In the short-term, Garfinkle is right. In the long-term, he probably is right. But in the intermediate term, Qantas has some work to do to win back passengers and, if it's even possible, win back employees' trust.

"But the surprise grounding of all 108 planes on Saturday, at a cost of $20 million a day, has hurt the Australian flagship carrier's reputation among the tens of thousand of passengers who have been stranded around the world....

"Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst in San Francisco, predicts the shutdown will do long-term damage to the Qantas name by hurting its reputation for reliability. 'A lot of travelers won't take a chance and will book away to Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and other airlines,' Harteveldt said. 'Brand loyalty in the airline business is very low, and there is so much competition.'

"Before the court ruling, Virgin Australia said it was scheduling extra flights and offering 20 percent fare discounts to help stranded Qantas passengers through Thursday. If Qantas loses customers, that could also hurt partners in its alliance of global airlines, including American Airlines."

The unions argued before the three judges that the court should temporarily suspend the employee lockout so that strike action could resume. Qantas claimed the strikes had devastated the airline's reputation for reliability and that the threat needed to be removed permanently before customers would return.

Okay, now the threat of further strike action is gone. The interesting part will be watching to see how quickly Qantas bounces back from this smudge on its reputation and the weight of carrying thousands of disgruntled employees on the payroll.

As far as the financial community's perception, Qantas stock was up 5% on Monday, the first trading day following the court order.

Coal Industry Crackdown Should Have Been Anticipated

2011-10-31T09:14:00.005-04:00

If the earth is shaking under someone in your industry, you need to warn management that a tsunami could engulf your company. You must establish a Management Emergency Warning System (MEWS) to anticipate ripple-effect crises that could affect you.

Part of MEWS is keeping up with what's happening with your competitors and others who may be in a similar business or have similar risks. MEWS only works, however, if you have management who will listen and take appropriate action.

The coal industry should have been ready for backlash after the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion in April 2010 that killed 29 West Virginia miners. Those caught unprepared for a regulatory tightening of the screws have no one to blame -- except their own poor or non-existent MEWS. Or in some cases, management arrogance and ego.

Coal companies should know that four managers of the former Massey Energy, which owned Upper Big Branch, have gone to prison. Investigations and trials have unearthed illegal practices such as keeping two sets of records on safety and warning miners underground that inspectors were on the surface.

James R. Carroll of Louisville's The Courier Journal wrote about the extensive crackdown on the coal industry following Upper Big Branch Mine. "Since April 2010, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has conducted 251 so-called 'impact inspections' in coal mines, including 73 in Kentucky and seven in Indiana.

"Those safety sweeps have netted 4,530 citations for violations, including nearly 2,000 in Kentucky and 111 in Indiana. At the same time, MSHA has ordered 427 temporary mine closings to fix problems, including 174 in Kentucky and six in Indiana." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011310310008)

It wouldn't take much of a MEWS to anticipate increased federal oversight following the worst mining disaster in 40 years. But based on the numbers above, many companies still don't get it. And along with tighter inspections, they need to be prepared for inevitable tougher regulations.

"MSHA also is moving ahead with proposed regulations to improve and tighten coal-dust monitoring to protect miners from excess exposure that can lead to black lung disease; new rules to crack down on operators with a pattern of safety violations; and additional action to prevent equipment from crushing miners."

Despite all the warnings, there remain some bad company managers out there. "For coal operators who do get it, 'they’re doing what we ultimately believe they need to be doing, and that is, inspecting their own mines and fixing a problem and not waiting on MSHA to show up to fix it,' (MSHA Administrator Joseph) Main said."

Renegades, beware. "As for coal companies that don’t adhere to MSHA’s emphasis on safety, the agency can find mines to have 'patterns of violations' that could subject them to being closed until chronic safety problems are fixed. During audits of mines that the agency considered to be suspect, MSHA found that only a handful actually failed to turn over accident, injury and illness data....

"Since it instituted changes last year, MSHA has notified 15 mines — four of them in Kentucky — that they have a potential pattern of repeat violations. Two of those mines, including Bledsoe Coal Corp.’s Abner Branch Rider Mine in Leslie County, ultimately were put on a special watch list that allows agency inspectors to shut down working parts of those mines for every significant safety violation."

Consider carefully a MEWS in your organization. If you have one, how can you make it stronger? But if you have a management mentality like the coal company mentioned above, there's no use wasting your time. They won't listen. You might want to consider updating your resume instead.

Armstrong Wall Collapse Kills Two People; Statement Inappropriate

2011-10-30T09:37:00.006-04:00

There's not a company in existence that can't cite all the safety platitudes. And most can keep a straight face when reciting them. Many can point to safety awards presented by myriad industry and civic groups. It's cliche time: Actions speak louder than words.

Two employees were killed Friday at an Armstrong Coal surface mine in western Kentucky when a pile of rock crushed their truck as they drove near a highwall. I want to make a point about Armstrong's media statement, but first I want to put it in context.

Armstrong's News tab on its website has no mention of the accident (http://www.armstrongcoal.com/news.html). There is a tab that discusses its commitment to safety: "Armstrong has been fully committed to the health & safety of its miners since the company began mining operations in 2008. The goal of Armstrong is for every miner to go home each day accident free.... Armstrong's commitment to safety is recognized by its exemplary safety record year in and year out." (http://www.armstrongcoal.com/safety.html)

Reality seems contradictory. "U.S. Mine Health and Safety Administration records show the agency cited operator Armstrong Coal in April. The citation was first reported by the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.

"'That was an unrelated incident that took less than an hour to correct,' Bob Gunnell, a spokesman for Armstrong, said Saturday. The citation for the Equality Mine at Centertown refers to standards that require removal of loose hazardous material from the top of highwalls, the unexcavated face of the layers of soil and dirt and rock lying on top of the coal seam. Records show Armstrong has contested the citation." (http://hosted2.ap.org/ALDEC/TDNational/Article_2011-10-29-Miners%20Killed/id-a579607f66794738a400734722b726e4)

It's not an unrelated incident, as claimed. The citation was for violation of standards requiring removal of loose material from the top of highwalls. This particular highwall collapsed.

Armstrong issued a statement Friday or Saturday. I can't find the exact words of condolences. I only find a passing reference to that good stuff, and then an add-on that makes me cringe:

"Armstrong released a statement expressing condolences for the men and pointing to its safety record.

"'The Armstrong Coal Company's Equality Mine has a strong safety record having previously gone 436 days without an accident and winning several awards for safety. Armstrong Coal officials are fully cooperating with state and federal mining officials in their inquiries,' the statement said."

A fatality isn't the time to brag on your safety record. Maybe next month you can find ways to release how wonderful you are. But two men have just been killed, and you're sticking to your story about how safe you are? And all the while you know you are contesting a fine for what might be a related violation last spring?

Not cool. Following a tragedy, stick to the three C's: condolences, cooperation, and correction. Boasting about safety awards has no credibility and is tasteless.

Fairs Are Crises Waiting to Happen

2011-10-29T10:00:00.005-04:00

This year's fair season is over, but ripples from at least two of them remain on the pond. I wonder how many fair staffs have crisis communications plans, complete with holding statements, key stakeholders, and other relevant quick-grab information. So many and varied crises can happen when so many people are gathered at the same place.

In the case of the Indiana State Fair, a stage collapsed in a storm last summer, killing seven and injuring many more who were waiting for a Sugarland concert. "Survivors and those still traumatized by the deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair hoped for some musical healing Friday night as country band Sugarland returned to the state for a (free) benefit concert more than 10 weeks after a tragic night that continues to conjure up painful memories." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011310280077)

Communications from fair staff largely have been stymied by legal ropes and chains.

More recently, E. coli has been linked to the October North Carolina Fair in Raleigh. Ten cases have been confirmed and 16 more are under investigation. Four victims are children, three of which remain hospitalized on dialysis.

"After the initial cases were reported, it did not take long for suspicion to be directed at the fair, since an E. coli outbreak in 2005 was traced to a petting zoo at the fair, (Public Information Officer Julie) Henry (of the North Carolina Division of Public Health) said.... But Henry acknowledged Friday that officials may never determine the source of the outbreak....

"The majority of U.S. outbreaks -- blamed for some 265,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United States each year -- are linked to raw or undercooked ground beef, unpasteurized milk, unpasteurized juice and leafy greens, HHS said on its website." (http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/28/health/north-carolina-e-coli/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)

For a crisis communicator, there aren't a lot of things to tell your audiences except that you are cooperating fully in the investigation. That's exactly what the North Carolina fair spokesman did. "Brian Long, director of the North Carolina State Fair press office, said that fair officials are cooperating with public health officials as they try to determine the source of the outbreak. 'Right now there are still far more questions than answers, and we know the investigation will take time. But we are eager to help investigators any way we can,' he told CNN.

The question I have is did that statement come from legally approved words in a functional crisis communications plan? Sometimes, a communicator can get it right operating on the fly. But often, there is too much going on to draft a statement and have it approved -- especially in a bureaucracy like a state government. In this case, Long had the luxury of time because a statement wasn't needed immediately.

If your organizations exists to draw big crowds, or even smaller crowds such as a museum, you are far better off having a crisis communications plan than in making up messages and stakeholders as you go. Write, or have an outside professional, write a crisis communications plan. Then hope you never need it. I guess it's a lot like car insurance.

Cintas Provides Statement About Employee Fatality

2011-10-29T09:05:00.003-04:00

"More than five million people go to work every day in a Cintas uniform including employees from McDonald's, NASCAR, W Hotels, Royal Caribbean and many more." (http://www.cintas.com/uniform-work-apparel/) A Cintas employee in Louisville, Kentucky, died yesterday when he fell into a drier.

The employee was alone at the time. It was about 4 a.m. and his partner wasn't due to arrive for another 20 minutes. He was on top of the drier, apparently trying to fix it before others came in on the clock. The drier jump started and he fell in.

"'It appears at the time, safety mechanisms were not in place and the dryer did start which actually pulled him into the dryer causing blunt force trauma to his body," said (Lt. Barry) Wilkerson. (http://www.wlky.com/news/29617717/detail.html)

"OSHA indicates Cintas has amassed at least 265 safety violations nationwide since 2003. 70 of those, regulators deemed could cause 'death or serious physical harm.'" (http://www.whas11.com/home/Maintenance-worker-at-Cintas-dies-after-falling-into-industrial-dryer-132789513.html)

It seems like the machine should have been locked out/tagged out, that the employee should have waited for his partner, that he should have been tied off. But whether safety regulations were violated is up to OSHA to decide. How well Cintas is communicating is up to us to decide.

"Heather Maley, the Senior Corporate Communications Manager released this statement:

"'Cintas is devastated to have learned about the accident that took the life of one of our employee-partners at our uniform rental facility in Louisville overnight. Our deepest heartfelt sympathy is extended to his family. The safety and security of our employee-partners is a priority at Cintas and we are shaken by this news. The company remains focused on providing support to the family and his co-workers at the facility. A thorough investigation has begun to determine the cause of this accident.'" (http://www.wdrb.com/story/15900304/louisville-employee-falls-into-industrial-dryers-and-dies)

The only thing missing is a pledge to cooperate with outside agencies in their investigations. Nevertheless, it's a heartfelt message and much better than "unavailable for comment," don't you think?

I can't find this statement posted anywhere on the website, which leaves me wondering if the company is hoping the accident will remain a local issue only. Other employees need to know what happened so they can be extra cautious until they know the cause. Then every facility will need to look at its own equipment and procedures. Perhaps that communication is taking place through other media.

As I write this, it's been just 29 hours since the accident. I'll be watching to see if there are after-shocks, or if Cintas will do and say the right things to ease the crisis.

Treating Employees and Communities Well Pays Dividends

2011-10-28T08:09:00.005-04:00

Businesses are in business to make a profit, pure and simple. They don't exist to be benevolent clubs, although they should recognize that giving back is an important part of doing business. Likewise, treating employees like adults, with respect and trust, may cost some money up front, but it pays off in the long run in terms of productivity, retention, and positive-speak in the community. I always viewed donations and considerate employee relations as investments. Not everyone agrees.

The relationship between Hackleburg, Alabama, and Wrangler makes an excellent example.

"When a tornado tore through Hackleburg, Ala., in April, it nearly destroyed the little town and killed 26 people. Dozens of houses were flattened, along with several businesses and buildings -- including the Wrangler factory, the largest employer in the town.

"Pairs of the iconic blue jeans were found as far as 90 miles away after the storm. Many of the workers lost their homes and were also left without hope. Plant manager Wade Hedgedorn took shelter under a table with 13 other workers when the twister blasted through the plant. One person died." (http://abcnews.go.com/US/bringing-america-back-wrangler-rebuilds-tornado/story?id=14826097)

When the initial shock eased, Hackleburg wondered if its largest employer would rebuild there or elsewhere. To rebuild someplace else probably would mean the end of this flattened little town. Why rebuild homes if there was no place to work?

"But in a display of loyalty, Wrangler announced that it would rebuild by opening a new plant in two years, and would add 50 new jobs.... In the meantime, every worker still has a job and benefits. It only took a few weeks for the company to move to a refurbished warehouse about 80 miles away.

"The company drives the workers to their temporary space, so the company can continue to ship jeans while it rebuilds the old plant. Hackleburg is still the best location to meet Wrangler's shipping needs, and the company didn't want to lose the workforce made up of highly-skilled Americans."

Do you suppose workers are going to complain if asked to do a little extra? Will salaried people complain about having to work on Saturday once in a while? Will employees tell their neighbors about how poorly managed Wrangler is? No, these people would take a figurative bullet for the company.

"Charlotte Walter, who has worked at the company for 20 years, said Wrangler has taught her to be more considerate of people, because that's the treatment she received. 'In abundance,' she said, in tears.

"Donna Fredrick, who has worked for 15 years at the plant, lost her home -- but today, she's also rebuilding. She'll work forever for a company that stands by its people, she said, and is bringing America back, one family at a time."

From the perspective of crises, imagine Wrangler suffered a crisis that should have been prevented but wasn't. The goodwill that Wrangler built will insulate it, long-term at least, from any negative reverberations. Bad neighbors, bad employers, have stakeholders just waiting to stick it to those organizations. But companies like the Hackleburg Wrangler plant have loyal employees and community members ready to defend.

PR Pro in NFL Makes an Interceotion And Another Drops the Ball

2011-10-26T08:07:00.006-04:00

What is the role of public relations? It's clearly to, in part, enhance the images of our respective organizations. There are countless ways to do that, but not all result in positive outcomes. This blog is peppered with examples of PR people who perform heroically and others who miss the mark with comments that leave us going, "Huh?"

A recent pair of examples in the NFL reveals a great block and a missed tackle.

"After the 49ers upset the previously undefeated Detroit Lions, pumped-up 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh ran onto the field for the customary handshake with Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. Harbaugh, in his excitement, slapped Schwartz' hand admittedly with too much force. Words were exchanged and a scuffle ensued that was captured by cameras.

"The showdown was broken up by (49ers director of PR Bob) Lange, who ran in between the two irate coaches exclaiming 'WhoaWhoaWhoaWhoa!!!!!!,' acccording to Sports Illustrated's Peter King, just as Schwartz 'was about to get at Harbaugh and possibly do something he might regret for a long, long time.'

"Not only did Lange help diffuse an ugly incident, he kept the story from straying too far away from the 49ers' big win. While most football highlights led with the coaches' fight Sunday night, Lange likely did a solid service to his franchise in limiting the damage." (http://www.odwyerpr.com/video/101711video-49ers-pr-man-in-center-of-nfl-scrum.html)

Lange deserves a game ball. A week later, a radio interview turned into a lost fumble.

"New York Jets media relations director Jared Winley sparked a sports PR debate Oct. 21 when he cut into an on-air phone interview between a star player and WFAN radio's Mike Francesa, telling the player to hang up on the radio host.

"I was on my way home Friday evening listening to the interview as Francesa pushed the line in telling All-Pro New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis (over and over and over) that he thought a penalty should have been called on the Jets star on a key play Revis made in the previous Sunday's game.

"Revis initially took the opinion in stride, countering that he felt the host was wrong. As Francesa persisted in a half-joking manner Revis sounded agitated. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, an electronic tone could be heard on the line and Winley's voice came on the air to tell Revis to hang up the phone, which the cornerback did.

"To his credit, Winley later called the show's producer to apologize and say he should have asked the host to simply move on to a new topic: 'In my judgment, given the tone of the interview, I should have asked Mike to move on to another topic, instead of instructing Darrelle to hang up the phone. That was an error on my part. I’ve called Mike’s producer and I apologized.'" (http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/index.php?/archives/3451-Did-NY-Jets-PR-Staffer-Cross-the-Line.html)

Protecting your organization by stepping in to prevent a potential crisis is the job of communicators. Protecting your organization by stifling unpleasant conversation probably isn't usually the right strategy. While it may feel good and right at the time, an action that must be followed by an apology probably isn't the best way to go.

Wild Animals Escape: There Are No New Crises

2011-10-25T09:53:00.005-04:00

At the Institute for Crisis Management, President Larry Smith insists there are no new crises. Nothing can ever happen to your organization that hasn't happened to someone else.

What about this: "Lions, bears and wolves were among the animals found running loose on Tuesday in Ohio, where the owner of an exotic animal farm was found dead on his property, police said. Sheriff's deputies found about 48 dangerous animals running loose on the farm near the east-central Ohio town of Zanesville, and shot dead about 25 of them, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told a news conference." (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1019/Escaped-wild-animals-hunted-in-Zanesville-Ohio)

That's a first, right? Not exactly. Shark attacks off the southwest coast of Australia recently have killed three people, affecting tourist and off-shore commercial operations. Alligators released by irresponsible pet owners can be in waterways in the north. In the south, it's the alligators' natural domain. Bears, particularly grizzlies, can attack hikers or move into more populated areas, seeking garbage dumps or whatever. Wild dogs can form packs. Mountain lions wander into California neighborhoods looking for food. Pythons escape or are released.

My sister lives in a quiet college town in northwestern Pennsylvania. I have a picture on my phone of a black bear in front of her house -- right in town.

Crises related to animal attacks at businesses are rare. There are few animal attacks (other than pets gone wild) that can affect your organization. Zanesville, where schools were closed and motorists were warned to stay in their cars, is a crisis more of the bizarre classification. Still, you must be prepared to communicate.

That doesn't mean your crisis communications plan has to account specifically for tiger attacks. But if your plan is written thoroughly, some contingency will enable you to make an initial statement if an alligator crawls from the river onto your property. Something should help you say something to employees, families, and other stakeholders.

The good news is that there are no new crises, so our well-written plans can account for pretty much anything. Uh, that is if you have a plan to begin with.

National Emergency Alert System To Be Tested November 9; Might Be a Chance To Test Your Own Alert System

2011-10-24T05:20:00.006-04:00

The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on November 9. The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the system designed to alert the public. (http://www.fcc.gov/guides/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test-eas)

EAS is a media system that is designed to transmit emergency alerts and warnings to the public at the national and local levels. EAS participants broadcast alerts and warnings regarding weather threats, earthquakes, security risks, child abductions, and other types of emergencies. Alerts are transmitted over television and radio, satellite television, satellite radio, and cable television. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct the test.

"Although the nationwide EAS test may resemble the periodic monthly EAS tests that most consumers are familiar with, there will be some differences in what consumers may see or hear, which is one reason for conducting a nationwide EAS test. During the test, the public will hear a message indicating 'this is a test.' The audio message will be the same for everyone, however due to limitations of the EAS, the video test message may not be the same... FEMA and the FCC plan to reach out to organizations representing people with hearing disabilities to prepare that community for the national test."

The three-minute test will involve only broadcast radio, television, cable television, and satellite communications that participate in the EAS, but not mobile communications. This seems like a major gap in the system.

I don't see any suggestions of how businesses should participate. I suggest you consider transmitting the text of the test via Twitter, cell phones, employee e-mails, and other ways you rely on to communicate quickly to your people. This includes universities who have set up phone dial-up systems, e-mail, and Twitter notification systems.

Maybe you already do your own regular testing. It still wouldn't hurt to see how and how quickly you can notify stakeholders if there were a national or regional alert.

Here's a Cause the Occupy Wall Street Should Get Behind

2011-10-23T10:30:00.004-04:00

I moaned in an October 15 post how Occupy Wall Street and all the other Occupy Somethings around the world have no agenda. As in the movie Network, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore." Take what? Occupy what? Well, I have an idea for a symbolic gesture, to identify an enemy and then stick them.

The idea comes from a wonderful Sports Illustrated article by Ian Thomsen. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/ian_thomsen/10/21/NBA.labor/index.html?xid=cnnbin&hpt=hp_bn10)

"On Thursday night in a Manhattan hotel, as owners and players bickered over ultimatums, the NBA was ignorant of a larger threat developing just miles away. On the southern tip of the rich island were gathered thousands of stubborn protesters representing American economic frustration. They were the people of Occupy Wall Street....

"The issues protested by the Wall Street Occupiers are far more serious than the lockout that is upsetting basketball fans. Yet the parallels are obvious. The NBA generates $4 billion annually and its players average $5 million in salary per year. Yet they cannot agree on how all of that money should be divided between the owners of the franchises and the employees. They have been arguing for more than two years without recognizing or respecting what is happening in the world around them -- not only that they should be celebrating their good fortune rather than fighting over it, but that those with far less wealth are beginning to mobilize and realize their own power."

Pro athletes and owners are arrogant. They fight over huge pots of money, and when it's all over, it's the fans who pay. And we fans are loyal. We'll continue to pack stadiums and arenas because those are our teams. Nowhere is that more true than where I grew up, in Pittsburgh. The Steelers define that city: tough, hard-working, and gritty. The Penguins sell out their new arena for every game, and the Pirates -- well, they were the talk of the town in the '70s and last summer until they took a dive in July. My first job was as a sportswriter because sports is what you did in Western Pennsylvania.

Baseball once cancelled a World Series. Hockey cancelled a season. Football went on strike and made a mockery of the game using replacement players and almost cancelled the current season. Now it's the NBA's turn. And it's the public's turn to make an example of these fat cats.

"But never has a league dared to shut itself down in a time like this, during a recession now generating its fourth year of high unemployment and foreclosures. The Occupy Wall Street protesters and their brethren emerging in scores of other cities in America (and around the world) are establishing their own agenda. They are refusing to argue the underlying details of the financial meltdown, and they don't claim to offer solutions. Instead, for now, they are simply demanding that they be acknowledged by those who hold the majority of money and power.

"'Respect us,' the protesters are saying.

"'Or else what?' the rich and powerful seem to be responding. To which the protesters have said nothing ... yet. They are deciding how to respond and what to do amid an ominous silence....

"But now the dots have never been easier to connect. This is a league that has used public money to finance its arenas -- expensive buildings that are now shuttered to the financial detriment of local governments as well as thousands of workers, and it's all because of a very simple and unbelievably greedy story. Everyone else suffers because 30 owners and 400 basketball players cannot agree on how to share $4 billion per year.

"The Occupy Wall Street protesters are trying in their own way to tell the rich and powerful that they must be conscious of the world around them. The NBA owners and players are failing to recognize not only their citizenship but also their extreme vulnerability. They have forgotten that the NBA exists largely due to its fans."

The lockout isn't much of a crisis for the NBA. Eventually, they'll divide up the money and make their millions from the fans and TV networks. And the fans will return, as they always do, and pay ridiculous prices for tickets, concessions, and parking. But...

"What if it strikes the larger public nerve, so that the NBA's $4 billion shutdown is turned into a high-profile example of something deeper and much more important than a game? This kind of public reckoning has been forecast for a long time."

Occupy Wall Street is a protest in search of a cause. The NBA is ideal symbolism of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer as they protest in the park.

"Each time they meet, the owners and players emerge from their failed negotiations and declare how much they love and feel sorry for the fans. It's the one statement both sides share in common, and it couldn't be more hollow or condescending. In the end, the details of their negotiations don't matter nearly so much as the harm the owners and players are creating together."

Negative Perceptions -- True or False -- Can Lead to Crises

2011-10-23T09:42:00.005-04:00

Don't just tell your message; show it.

I wrote about mountaintop coal removal a couple times recently. In a September 28 post, I wrote, "Coal mine operators: Show you can behave safely and responsibly toward the environment. If mountaintop removal really isn't so bad, take reporters and others to a mine site and show them. If it really is devastating to mother nature -- well, you can't tell your story if you have no story to tell."

At the risk of being redundant, I'm going to be -- well, redundant. The message is that seeing is believing.

I once worked in the government's nuclear bomb-building facility. I was ready to move on and heard about a job at a chemical plant. I had a poor perception of the chemical industry, so I wasn't interested. Nuclear bombs were okay; chemical plants were scary. When I heard about the open position from a second source, I decided that maybe I was supposed to follow up. I believed that chemical plants leaked hazardous materials into the ground and water and that people dumped nasty stuff into the river at night. After all, isn't that what Hollywood shows? It had to be true. I used to have arguments with a guy in my church who was a consultant for agricultural chemicals. I said such chemicals were unnecessary health risks that simply improved profits for large farms and packers. I wanted no part of that business.

I was no fan of the chemical industry.

I got an interview at the chemical company's headquarters in Philadelphia and made the first cut. I went to the plant in Louisville, Kentucky, where the company wanted to build a hazardous waste incinerator. I still was skeptical. A chemical plant, with drums of leaking, vile substances and dripping pipes?

When I toured the plant, I was amazed. It was clean. There was a bit of odor in the air, but only a bit. I talked to employees about the safety and environmental programs. There were no leaking chemicals, and as best as I could tell, no guys in white suits were dumping barrels of methyl ethyl death into the Ohio River at night.

I accepted the job offer. I wasn't surprised to learn that many in the community shared my perception of what a chemical plant looked like. That's why one of my first objectives was to convince plant management to institute a major tour program. Heck, we even had elementary kids in. It was perfectly safe. When neighbors and community leaders saw what the plant really looked like inside and were convinced we had nothing to hide, perceptions changed.

When people can see that their ideas of a chemical plant or a coal mine aren't nearly as horrible as they thought they were, oppositions melt. If you have perception problems with your business, open up the gates. If what you are doing will further fuel negative views, clean it up. Then open the gates.

If you can't pretty up a mountaintop mine, then maybe you have no business in using that method to extract coal. And if you don't want people to see your facility, clean it up. Then promote it.

Otherwise, you're a crisis waiting to happen.

Think You Don't Handle Hazardous Materials? Think Again

2011-10-15T10:26:00.007-04:00

Aha! Thank goodness your business doesn't handle hazardous materials, eh? Who needs a crisis communications plan to prepare you for a chemical leak, right?

Today in The Courier-Journal (Louisville), back to back in Metro Briefs is a pair of items to counter the Mad myth of "What, me worry?"

"The westbound lanes of Westport Road at Ormsby Lane were closed Friday afternoon after the Lyndon Fire Department declared a hazardous materials situation, according to MetroSafe. Less than a quart of anti-freeze and oil had leaked into a manhole cover after a traffic accident, said a MetroSafe supervisor." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011310140093)

And then this item: "The hazardous materials unit of Louisville Fire & Rescue have shut off an ammonia leak Friday afternoon at the RC/7Up Maintenance Shop, 6207 Strawberry Lane, a MetroSafe supervisor said. The hazmat unit was dispatched at 12:49p.m., the supervisor said. No one was injured and employees were moved to another building, said Sal Melendez, spokesman for Louisville Fire & Rescue. The ammonia is used in the large-scale refrigeration process at the bottling plant, he said." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011310140075)

Are these events a big deal? No, not in the overall scheme of things, but they could be later. Even if you simply bottle soft drinks or have vehicles on the roads, you need a crisis plan that takes hazardous chemicals into account. What would you say, and to whom would you say it? There are spouses and children at home who may be waiting to hear from you that everything is going to be all right.

Occupy What??

2011-10-15T10:05:00.005-04:00

I admit it. I'm sorely confused. What is Occupy Wall Street, and the many offshoots around the world, trying to accomplish?

I was a schoolboy in the '60s when protests against the Vietnam War defined a generation. So what kind of defining protest is Occupy Nothing?

Who wrote this stuff? I tutor students to take the ACT. I'm embarrassed: "First of all. There are no Official Demands of the Occupy Movement. that being said, multiple factions of the movement have been assembling to discuss and vote on the output and message for the movement. Below is a LIST OF PROPOSED 'DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS' proposed by the website (occupywallstreet.org) which does not entirely represent the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly. Below this list is a list of grievance that citizens have provided nationally and have voted on in solidarity of the movement." (http://coupmedia.org/occupywallstreet/occupy-wall-street-official-demands-2009)

Say that again? What follows is a laughable list of "demands." My favorite is, "ELIMINATE 'PERSONHOOD' LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS. The film 'The Corporation' has a great section on how corporations won 'personhood status'. (sic and sick)

I'm going to start my own protest: "Stop people from being ridiculous." What are these people for and against, and who is going to make the silly changes being demanded? The protests of the '60s had a cause and a villain. These protests have neither.

That being said, companies and crisis communications professionals need to be paying close attention. Understand the issues and be ready to respond to your stakeholders. The validity of today's protests can be the smoldering crisis of next month's bottom line.

Hank Williams Jr. Gets Benched

2011-10-14T15:21:00.005-04:00

Are you ready for some stupid????

ESPN said, "We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue." (http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/10/06/espn-statement-on-hank-williams-jr-10611/)

That termination stems from Williams comparing a "round of golf that President Obama played this summer with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to 'Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.' He also referred to Obama and Vice President Biden as 'the enemy.'" (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/10/06/141112853/hank-williams-jr-and-monday-night-football-part-ways)

Williams' song has opened Monday night football for 20 years. My guess is that it made him enough money to -- I don't know -- pay for lunch a time or two. Yet Williams remains unapologetic (and uncaring of rules of capitalization). "By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It’s been a great run.” (http://www.hankjr.com/home/203-hank-jr-reacts-to-being-pulled-from-espn-from-the-oct-3rd-monday-night-game-opener)

I will defend freedom of speech to the death. That's a cornerstone that has made this country what it is. But I have more sense than to compare the President to Hitler and the Speaker of the House to Netanyahu. And I don't even fall under similar public scrutiny of Williams nor have as much to lose from saying stupid things.

I will miss the football intro song. But every Monday night, I will remember how one more star, who thought he was above the rest of us, created his own crisis. Don't let it happen to your organization. People will agree and disagree with your politics. But you accomplish nothing by being vocal about them. I don't care who your rowdy friends are.

Don't Let Yourself Become Management's Sacrificial Lamb

2011-10-14T14:42:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure whether to cheer or boo the Metropolitan Sewer District in Louisville, Kentucky, for hiring a public relations pro. My years in PR have perhaps left me super-sensitive to the way people refer to "PR" in a generic sense. But I can't help thinking this may be a case where someone thinks they can fix a problem with better PR, much the same as some think they can fix a leaking roof with a pail in the living room to catch water.

Okay, here's the story. I blogged about MSD's state audit on July 8. I wrote at the time, "Requests to address the board had to be submitted in writing to (Director Bud) Schardein so-many days before the meeting. He alone decided what was and wasn't appropriate for the board to hear.

"That policy changed recently after the audit was announced. The new 'open' policy states, 'MSD shall place a Sign-In Sheet at the Customer Service Desk located in the lobby.... Anyone wishing to speak to the Board before a Board meeting or a Board committee meeting shall sign in at any time up to ten (10) minutes prior to the beginning of the meeting.... The first five people to sign in shall speak at a meeting. Each speaker will speak in the order in which the speaker signed in. Each speaker shall be provided up to three minutes.'" (http://www.msdlouky.org/pdfs/MSDPublicParticipationProcedures20110613.pdf) (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/07/something-smells-bad-at-louisvilles.html)

That's a PR junkyard dog, right? But instead of simply doing "the right thing," "The Metropolitan Sewer District, which has been mired in controversy all year, has hired someone to handle its public relations. Steve Tedder started at MSD Monday, said Brian Bingham, a senior engineer and spokesman at MSD.... Bud Schardein worked as MSD's director of community relations and emergency response prior to being appointed executive director by former Mayor Jerry Abramson in 2003. The agency hasn't had a full-time public relations manager since then." (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courier_journal/access/2481721071.html?FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&fmac=4981cbfffbadf110f0fbc19eab3f35e8&date=Oct+10%2C+2011&author=&pub=&desc=MSD+hires+public+relations+man)

Huh? You hire a PR pro to fix "questions of governance, ethics, procurement, employee compensation and spending as part of an audit of management practices at MSD requested earlier this year by Mayor Greg Fischer."

Call me thin-skinned, but this isn't a "public relations" problem. This is a procedural issue. I've known Bud a long time, and he knows better than this. And so should you. Don't be called into the boss's office to fix a crisis that is caused by mismanagement. You can't cure warts by communicating about them.

Hiring a PR pro is fine and probably overdue. It's the timing that looks bad. Tedder is looking like MSD's sacrificial lamb. Don't allow yourself to be penned into the same pasture.

Government Ignored Bugs To Seek Out Terrorist Threats

2011-10-14T14:25:00.005-04:00

According to Tracie Cone of the Associated Press this week, "Dozens of foreign insects and plant diseases slipped undetected into the United States in the years after 9/11, when authorities were so focused on preventing another attack that they overlooked a pest explosion that threatened the quality of the nation's food supply....

"'Whether they know it or not, every person in the country is affected by this, whether by the quality or cost of their food, the pesticide residue on food or not being able to enjoy the outdoors because beetles are killing off the trees,' said Mark Hoddle, an entomologist specializing in invasive species at the University of California, Riverside. Homeland Security officials acknowledge making mistakes and say they are now working to step up agricultural inspections at border checkpoints, airports and seaports." (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/10/10/1915105/ap-impact-foreign-insects-diseases.html)

The lesson in crisis communications we can learn here is that we can never let our guard down. Just because we may be facing sexual harassment suits doesn't allow us to ignore the fact that the building is on fire. All threats to our business must be considered equally. In this case, the impact of insect pests isn't as dire as the underwear bomber. But that doesn't mean we have the luxury of ignoring one smoldering crisis so we can focus on another.

All crises count.

Sullivan University Is Attracting the Wrong Attention At the Wrong Time

2011-10-12T17:42:00.004-04:00

In late September I wrote here, "If you handle crisis communications for a for-profit college in Kentucky -- or anywhere else for that matter -- be forewarned.... Here in Kentucky, Attorney General Jack Conway has filed the third suit his office has launched against for-profit colleges. Five other unnamed Kentucky schools are still under investigation."

I guess Sullivan University in Louisville didn't get the memo.

"Patricia Sullivan-Schrenk, the ex-wife of Sullivan University Chancellor Alva Ray Sullivan, is suing her ex-husband and the school, claiming the business’ profits are being 'hoarded' rather than paid to her as the owner of just less than half the stock." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011310110012)

Now is not the time to draw attention to for-profits profits.

"Documents filed in the case provide a rare window into the finances of the for-profit corporation, which in addition to the flagship university includes Spencerian College and the old Louisville Technical Institute, now called Sullivan College of Technology and Design....

"An internal university document filed in Jefferson Circuit Court shows Sullivan and Schrenk cashed out more than $76 million from the business between 2000 and 2009. As part of a 1999 agreement related to their divorce, Sullivan owns 50.1 percent of the corporation, while Schrenk owns the other 49.9 percent. Court documents also show the system made a profit of $16 million in 2008, up from $6.6 million in 2000."

There's nothing wrong with making a profit. But the issue with Conway in Kentucky is with colleges making false claims about students' chances for employment after graduation. That may seem like a totally different issue from Sullivan's stockholder trying to get her fair share. But to draw attention to the organization as the attorney general has his antennae up is asking for trouble.

The school already was asking for trouble when, last month, it openly was campaigning against Conway's reelection in November.

When the sharks are circling is not the time to shave your face. Use good sense.

Jobs, Francona, and Steese Are Gone; So Who's Minding the Store?

2011-10-06T16:21:00.007-04:00

I have three seemingly unrelated stories to tell. But if you'll stick with me, all have a common theme.

First is the death of Steve Jobs. "With Steve Jobs managing the company and being a 'brand' just as popular as the i gadgets, Apple's earnings hit record-breaking values. Apple's market value went from $5 billion at the end of 2000 to $351 billion in the present, making it the world's most valuable IT company and second most valuable publicly traded U.S. business." (http://newsinabox.net/1825/steve-jobs-died-what-happens-with-apple.html) Apple's stock price fell just $.88 today following Job's death, less than a quarter of a percent.

And then there is the "firing" of Terry Francona. When I was in junior high, Terry's dad, Tito, a former major leaguer, came to my school for an assembly. His picture was the first I ever took as photographer for my school paper. Terry was from New Brighton, Pennsylvania, the town across the river from Beaver Falls, my home town. I watched Terry play high school basketball early in my sportswriting career. Late in his baseball playing career, he played for Louisville. I had a nice conversation with him before a game, about growing up in western Pennsylvania. Jack Fullen was his high school coach. Fullen also was my neighbor and my junior high gym teacher. All this is to say I've been a Terry Francona fan for a long time.

"The firing of Red Sox manager Terry Francona offers a few valuable lessons in crisis communications, especially those relating to the unexpected departure of an executive. For those of you outside of Red Sox Nation, let me offer a little background: the only living manager of Boston’s professional baseball team to win a world series (twice!) is now unemployed after missing the playoffs following a disastrous September collapse. To be technical, Francona wasn’t fired; the team declined to pick up the option on his 2012 contract. While the debate over letting Francona go is an ideal subject for a sports-focused blog, the way the decision was communicated offers two valuable lessons to anyone in crisis communications." (http://blog.investorrelations.com/2011/10/04/the-firing-of-terry-francona-lessons-in-crisis-communications/) Sharon Merrrill's blog on the subject is well worth reading.

Third: Steeses' Ice Cream was a landmark in Grove City, Pennsylvania. My mother babysat for Steeses as a kid. In 1955, they opened a homemade ice cream stand, which later evolved into a full-service restaurant. They remained good family friends for decades. Bob, the founder, died of a brain tumor in the 1990s. His son ran the restaurant until he died of a heart attack. His widow wasn't interested in continuing, and so this icon of homemade goodness closed down several years ago, and their recipe for the best ice cream in the world fell to a grandson, who still makes a little of the stuff in his basement.

Now, what do these stories have in common? Succession. Steve Jobs was ill for a long time, but Apple was ready. It knew it needed a Jobs replacement for when he was unable to manage the company.

Baseball managers come and go like the flu. Without a replacement for Francona already standing on deck, it remains to be seen if anyone else can steer that ship to a World Series title. After all, it was Francona who broke the curse of the Sox trading the Bambino to the Yankees.

My friends, the Steeses, had no succession plan. So when the patriarch and his son both died, so too did their business. Some 50 years worth of sweat equity was gone suddenly because there was no succession plan.

Whatever your business, you need to make sure there's a successor waiting in the wings. Whether your leader dies, retires, or gets fired, you need to ensure someone is there to carry on.

EPA Continues Assault on Mountaintop Coal Mining; Industry Message Is Uncompelling

2011-10-02T08:14:00.005-04:00

I wrote on Wednesday below about the coal industry crisis it faces from EPA and environmentalists. This is an addendum: The battle continues.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has objected to 19 mountaintop mining permits in Kentucky only days after Gov. Steve Beshear urged President Barack Obama to ease up on the state's coal industry." (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q32A300.htm)

The industry's message is one of saving jobs. Despite the rate of unemployment, saving jobs of faceless coal miners pales next to photos of leveled mountains in Appalachia (http://www.google.com/search?q=mountaintop+mining+photos&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLL_enUS323&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=RmKITuzwGsu3tweKoJ04&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=567). People can find other jobs, the wisdom goes. We can't find any more mountaintops or clean water.

"'We have significant concerns that these permits will allow discharges that may cause significant water quality impacts,' James Giattina, director of the EPA's water protection division said in a letter."

The EPA's objections pertained only to mountaintop mines. It didn't object to 36 other permits for underground mines and coal preparation plants. But as I wrote Wednesday, coal companies want to use mountaintop mining for higher profits than they can earn from underground extraction, especially when it comes to thin coal seams.

"Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Bissett was critical of the EPA's decision. 'It is important to remember that these 19 objections by the EPA deny Kentuckians good paying jobs and negatively affects our ability to provide affordable electricity to our commonwealth and the nation,' Bissett said. 'While President Obama and his political appointees continue to tout the American Jobs Act, Kentuckians in the coalfields remain very concerned about their ability to have a job and provide for their families.'"

Appalachian coal needs to tout more than well-paying jobs. It needs to find ways to protect the environment and then communicate that message. It also needs to reach ambivalents (see coal post below) with the message that higher coal mining costs will lead to higher energy costs for consumers. Playing the jobs card won't win this hand.

Was Tylenol Poisoning Case the Poster Child for Effective Crisis Mangement?

2011-09-30T09:15:00.005-04:00

The Tylenol poisoning crisis in 1982 is often recognized as a textbook case in how to respond and communicate during a crisis. But should it be? O'Dwyer's blog recently raised some doubts.

The blog cites a detailed New York Times article in August by Peter Goodman, national economic correspondent. He claimed companies like Toyota, BP, and Goldman Sachs failed to follow Johnson & Johnson's example of responding immediately to a crisis to retain credibility.

Goodman wrote, “'Exhibit A in the lesson book on forthright crisis management is the mass recall of Tylenol in 1982 after the deaths of seven people who ingested tainted painkillers. Johnson & Johnson promptly acknowledged that some of its product had been poisoned and pulled bottles off store shelves.'” (http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/index.php?/archives/1111-Crisis-Feature-in-Sunday-NYT-Praises-JJ.html)

O'Dwyer's has taken issue with that premise before, and did so again, based largely on J&J taking five days before ordering a full recall. "By that time there were almost no Tylenol products on any store shelf in the U.S. J&J’s initial move was to recall two small lots that had distribution in the Chicago area. Only after another (non-fatal) poisoning using Tylenol capsules took place in Oroville, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1982 did J&J and the Food & Drug Administration order a recall of the product."

According to Scott Bartz, author of The Tylenol Mafia: Marketing, Murder, and Johnson & Johnson, there's far more to the story than how long it took to issue a recall.

"On September 29, 1982, seven Chicago area residents died after swallowing cyanide-laced Extra Strength Tylenol capsules. The official story is that it was a madman who on Tuesday, September 28, drove haphazardly through the northwest suburbs of Chicago, took eight Tylenol bottles off the shelves of eight randomly selected stores and then replaced an arbitrary number of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules in each of those bottles with cyanide laced Tylenol capsules.

"The official story is a lie....

"Johnson & Johnson’s 'handling' of the Tylenol crisis was a well managed campaign of deception that diverted suspicion for the Tylenol murders away from Johnson & Johnson and its distribution network. Almost nothing you’ve ever heard about the Tylenol murders is supported by the evidence." (http://americanfraud.com/1982tylenolmurders.aspx)

Bartz's book contends that J&J made small recalls on Friday, two days after the seven poisonings and one day after executives were aware of the crisis. After the eighth poisoning, however, J&J didn't recall Tylenol with the lot number found with the victim.

On Friday night, the misinformation and panic reached an even higher level. "The Daily Herald and New York Times reported that cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules were found in two unsold bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol confiscated from the Osco Drug in Woodfiled Mall in Schaumburg, IL. Officials soon changed that story. The FDA said late Friday that it had found seven cyanide-poisoned capsules in a bottle removed from a drugstore in Schaumburg, IL, and seven more capsules from that SAME bottle are suspect. Soon the story was changed again by FDA officials who said that only seven poisoned capsules were recovered from just one unsold Tylenol bottle. However, Tyrone Fahner, the Daily Herald, and New York Times had all said that two unsold bottles of cyanide laced Tylenol capsules had been recovered from the Osco Drug store in Schaumburg."

Then came the witch hunt for a "madman." Several people attempted to extort money and so became suspects. One rumor was that one of the victims was the perpetrator and that he had laced a number of Tylenol capsules with cyanide to disguise his suicide.

Bartz said they were barking up the wrong proverbial tree all along. "After reviewing all available information and evidence relevant to the Tylenol tamperings, I concluded that the cyanide laced Tylenol capsules had been adulterated during distribution while under the control of Johnson & Johnson or Jewel Companies, and before the Tylenol bottles were delivered to the local retail stores."

Part of his theory has to do with probability. Math gives me a headache, so I'll try to summarize his thinking. "Of the seven Tylenol murder victims, Mary McFarland was the outlier. She was the only one who did not die from the very first dose she took from a bottle of cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules....

"The first five Tylenol capsules that McFarland took from her Tylenol bottle did not contain cyanide. That was a reasonable outcome since the probability that one of those first five capsules would contain cyanide was about 54 percent.... Conversely, it was extremely improbable that the very first dose taken from each of the other Tylenol victims’ four bottles would all contain cyanide - but they all did. This nearly impossible outcome makes no sense – unless there were many more bottles of cyanide-laced Tylenol in the Chicago area that the public never knew about. The probability that the very first dose taken from those four bottles would all contain cyanide is just 1 in 1,828, or 0.0547 percent." (http://americanfraud.com/marketingtylenol.aspx)

Was there a madman on the loose? Did the cyanide come from the Tylenol manufacturer or distributor? Was there a J&J cover up? We'll probably never know unless another Deep Throat confesses on his deathbed. But returning to the crisis communications aspects, did J&J really set the communications bar for others to emulate?

"'It's been about as effective a rescue job as I've seen in marketing,' said Stephen Greyser, a professor of marketing at the Harvard Business School.

"Though Johnson & Johnson executives often evade the press, in the aftermath of the tragedies they were never more talkative. For instance, James Burke, J&J's chairman, appeared on both the Phil Donahue Show and 60 Minutes. Executives repeatedly stressed the fact that Johnson & Johnson was blameless and that the adulterated capsules were the work of a crazed individual. (When matters calmed down, Johnson & Johnson's top executives reverted to their customary bashfulness. They have rebuffed the many requests for interviews for anniversary articles....)

"To whet consumer appetites, the company also inserted 80 million coupons in newspapers during November and December, good for $2.50 off any purchase of Tylenol. 'The couponing was a very well-chosen move in terms of the rhythm of purchase,' Mr. Greyser said, 'to make sure someone wouldn't buy another brand twice and maybe establish another habit.'

"Also, 2,250 sales representatives from 13 Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries called on doctors and pharmacists to cajole them to recommend Tylenol. To drum up retailer support, McNeil extended a 25 percent discount to outlets that bought as much Tylenol inventory as they did before the scare."

I wonder now about Johnson & Johnson's integrity. Read my blog on October 31, 2010, about recalls, a secret recall, and Congressional inquiries(http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2010/10/secret-recall-and-too-many-public.html). That post was before several recalls early in 2011.

It would appear the rebirth of Tylenol may have been more about marketing than it was about crisis communications.

Perhaps we need a new textbook case in how to communicate during a crisis. I suggest you contact Larry Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis Management (http://www.crisisexperts.com/), and ask him to tell you about his involvement in Edgewater Technologies' workplace shootings or Marathon Oil's pipeline rupture on a golf course.

Appalachian Coal Industry Faces Crisis of Supply And Blames Government and Environmentalists

2011-09-28T14:33:00.009-04:00

The coal mining industry in the east faces a crisis. This time, it's not a labor crisis or an environmental crisis or a safety crisis, although all those crises figure into this one.

"The region's thick, easy-to-reach seams of coal are running out, forcing many operators to shift to cheaper and more destructive mining methods that draw heavier environmental regulation. Coal here is getting harder and costlier to dig - and the region, which includes (Kentucky,) southern West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee, is headed for a huge collapse in coal production." (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/27/general-us-coal-apos-s-appalachian-future_8703121.html)

The Associated Press story by Dylan Lovan goes on say the industry blames government -- the Obama administration specifically -- for the looming doom of eastern coal mining.

"Industry supporters and political leaders from the coalfields have taken aim at the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama, saying its tough stance on a controversial surface mining method known as mountaintop removal is stifling production and eliminating jobs. In 2009, the year President Obama took office, coal production in eastern Kentucky fell by nearly 19 percent from the year before, from 90 million tons to 73 million.

"'I am as afraid of my government as I have ever been,' said Rusty Justice, who owns a Pikeville, Ky., engineering and construction business that works with coal operators. 'The policies being enacted by my government is going to destroy the economy of my part of the state.'"

Then there's the other side of the story. According to a National Geographic article that describes mountaintop removal, "After clear-cutting a peak's forest, miners shatter its rock with high explosives. Then they scoop up the rubble in giant draglines and dump the overburden, as they call it, into a conveniently located hollow, or valley. The method was first tested in Kentucky and West Virginia in the late 1970s and has since spread to parts of Tennessee and Virginia....

"Coal companies have obliterated the summits of scores of mountains scattered throughout Appalachia, and more and more folks...are decrying the environmental and social fallout of what some refer to as strip mining on steroids.

"Not only is mountain topping less labor intensive than underground mining, it is also more efficient and profitable than the older form of surface mining, in which the operator stripped away the horizontal contours of a mountainside as one might peel an apple.... If the practice continues until 2012, it will have squashed a piece of the American earth larger than the state of Rhode Island." (http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/when-mountains-move.html)

I have participated in and observed many such controversies, and you have too. Perhaps without exception, the truth lies in between extreme views. Business says this issue is going to destroy us, cost jobs, and hurt families. Environmentalists say that if we don't do something, the environment will be irreparably damaged and people's health will suffer.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the world changes. If you don't believe it, just try finding a decent blacksmith or typewriter repair shop these days. I visited many ghost towns in the mountains of Idaho, where once people got rich and businesses flourished. Then the silver or gold or whatever petered out and everyone moved on to do something else. That's what happens with nonrenewable, finite resources.

Coal is a finite resource. We've always known that someday people will have to accept the inevitable and move on, whether mountaintop removal is allowed or forbidden.

Try Googling "coal mining companies violations" and scroll through the list. Massey Energy, which I've blogged about often, gets a lot of hits, for sure. But there are many other names. For example, "Just one coal mining company, Nally and Hamilton Enterprises, has been caught making twelve thousand violations of the Clean Water Act, neglecting even to monitor the pollution coming out of its coal mines, and then faking data to make it seem that the coal mines were clean." (http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/03/11/1-coal-mining-company-has-12000-clean-water-act-violations/)

I'm not suggesting that coal companies are the Evil Empire or that environmentalists always have the facts straight. Far from either extreme. But without a communications strategy, Appalachian coal mining may go the way of the eight-track.

There are three kinds of audiences: advocates, adversaries, and ambivalents. The advocates don't take much feeding and watering because they're already on your side. Just make sure to keep them informed. The adversaries won't believe anything you tell them, so there's no use wasting time on them. The ambivalents are usually the majority. They don't care much. Those are people who must be kept ambivalent or pulled over to the advocacy side. Watch what the opponents are telling them, and then set the record straight from your perspective.

Coal mine operators: Show you can behave safely and responsibly toward the environment. If mountaintop removal really isn't so bad, take reporters and others to a mine site and show them. If it really is devastating to mother nature -- well, you can't tell your story if you have no story to tell.

And politicians: be careful about jumping on the coal industry's bandwagon. Coal companies are big campaign contributors. Be sure you're on the right side before you make statements like Senator Mitch McConnell, who calls federal government's enforcement actions against the industry a "war on coal."

And in Pittsburgh in the 1950s, when on a clear day you could see to the end of your arm, I suppose environmental regulations constituted a "war on the steel industry."

My point of all this babble is that no one in this issue seems to be doing a good job. The victor isn't necessarily the one who can spend the most and shout the loudest. The winner is the one with the most effective communications plan that is well executed. And factual!

Kentucky AG Carries a Big Stick Against Misleading Claims of For-Profit Colleges

2011-09-28T13:24:00.008-04:00

If you handle crisis communications for a for-profit college in Kentucky -- or anywhere else for that matter -- be forewarned. Make sure your website and recruiters aren't overselling the link between your institution and finding jobs.

Here in Kentucky, Attorney General Jack Conway has filed the third suit his office has launched against for-profit colleges. Five other unnamed Kentucky schools are still under investigation. The latest is against National College of Kentucky, which has about 5,000 students at six campuses.

Conway alleged that National College posted information last December that claimed 96% of graduates from its Louisville campus were successful in finding employment. But Conway said in 2010, the college reported to the accrediting agency that its job-placement number was 60%. After the investigation began, the website changed 96%, but it still didn't say 60. He questioned the employment rates of the other campuses as well.

"Conway said National added a disclaimer saying that its Website numbers reflect employment figures for graduates employed in any job. 'So this very well may have been the job they had before they first came to National, or a job in a completely unrelated field that didn’t match their field of study,' he said." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011309270045)

To its credit, the college issued a statement instead of the ubiquitous no comment. "It’s proud of its 'long history of providing career-focused education' but added that it could not comment on the suit because it had not been served. 'Each individual student’s success is our main focus and we remain committed to that,' it said."

National College's tuition ranges from $11,000 for some diplomas to $55,000 for some bachelor’s degrees. Conway said, “'National College is putting its bottom line before the hopes and dreams of students who are trying to better their lives. The reality is that more and more students are leaving for-profit schools with high debt loads and without the high-paying jobs they were promised....'

"The suit seeks an order enjoining National College from violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act’s ban against false advertising and asks civil penalties of $2,000 per violation of that law."

More costly could be the financial repercussions of students who decide to matriculate elsewhere. In July, Conway accused Daymar College of overcharging for textbooks and misleading students about financial aid and credit hours. In August, he joined a whistleblower suit in federal court alleging that Education Management Corp., the parent company of Brown Mackie College, paid recruiters to pump up enrollment figures.

The schools named need to develop an effective crisis communications plan to better ensure those in their schools stay there and those shopping for a degree will seriously consider them.

All for-profit colleges should be making sure their communications accurately reflect employment chances for their students. A 96% success rate placing students in jobs? Come on! That's hooey even in a sub-4%-unemployment economy.

"'Contrary to what critics may say, this is not an assault on the industry as a whole. It’s an effort to get at some bad actors and some concerns that we have about these practices,' Conway said.

"He said he would advise students considering enrolling at for-profit colleges not to be 'swayed by high-pressure sales tactics, or pressure to sign on the spot.... Ask questions about the transferability of credits, ask questions about the job placement rates and whether or not it’s related to the field of study.'”

California Utility Allowed Crisis to Smolder for 50 Years Before It Killed 8 People

2011-09-27T11:06:00.006-04:00

This is it! I found it: The textbook case of a smoldering crisis. That's a crisis someone knows about but no one takes action to fix the problem before a sudden crisis breaks out. This smoldering crisis killed eight people last year and destroyed 38 homes in San Bruno, California.

The culprit here is Pacific Gas and Electric. "The first warning sign came in 1948, when four 'rejectible' seam welds were uncovered in a small-scale survey during the installation of Line 132, the (National Transportation Safety Board) said.

"Other warnings followed after the portion of the line that exploded was rerouted to make way for the Crestmoor subdivision in 1956.

"In 1988, a flawed seam weld led to a leak...." The list continues, but you get the idea. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/27/MNPK1L9JM5.DTL) "PG&E did not consider such seam weld flaws as a risk to a line unless two flaws were found within 1 mile of each other, the safety board said."

The NTSB this week ruled PG&E had made numerous mistakes in the management of its transmission-pipeline system, including its failure to test more widely for substandard welds, even after finding several defects on the pipeline that exploded last September. The safety board found that PG&E suffered from "multiple and recurring deficiencies in PG&E operational practices."

There's plenty of blame to pass around. "The report also said state and federal regulators had not done enough to ensure the company was running a safe system, instead placing what the safety board's chairwoman called 'blind trust' in PG&E despite a dismal track record. The safety board's 140-page report provides factual findings to back up its conclusion last month that a 'litany of failures' by PG&E over more than five decades led to the explosion...."

PP&E has a statement on its website from President Chris Johns (his predecessor was replaced earlier this year), which may be about as good a statement as the company can make following the explosion and report. "PG&E is grateful for the NTSB's thorough investigation of the San Bruno pipeline accident and fully embraces the Board's recommendations for improving the operations and management of the company's natural gas system. We are implementing those recommendations as part of a larger effort, both immediate and long-term, to promote safer pipeline operations.

"We are committed to continuing to learn from the San Bruno accident and to sharing those learnings across the natural gas industry so that a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again." (http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/newsreleases/20110926/pgampe_statement_on_final_ntsb_report_on_san_bruno_accident.shtml)
If you've ever been involved in an ordeal like this one, you know how much easier it would have been to take action in 1948 or even 2009 to prevent the explosion than it was to put your tail between your legs and ask forgiveness. The utility will never fully recover from this. Seventy-nine years from now, people will still talk about where they were when the gas line exploded.

The Institute for Crisis Management's data file shows two-thirds of all crises are of the smoldering variety, and that very close to 100% of those can be prevented. Trust me on this: You don't want to learn that the hard way.

Eastern Livestock Crisis Will Lead to Trial

2011-09-26T15:09:00.004-04:00

Sometimes, crises are earned. Here's a follow-up to an earned crisis I first wrote about last November. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2010/11/cattle-company-gives-customers-and.html)

"Four people associated with one of the nation’s largest cattle brokerages, the Indiana-based Eastern Livestock, were charged Thursday with what state prosecutors describe as a check-kiting scheme that cost 172 cattle producers in Kentucky more than $840,000. Two of the men also face federal mail fraud charges and the possible forfeiture of $4.7 million if convicted.

"A grand jury in Metcalfe County, in Southern Kentucky, charged 71-year-old Thomas “Tommy” Gibson, one of the founders of the company, 59-year-old Steve McDonald and 48-year-old Grant Gibson, all of Lanesville, Ind., and 43-year-old Darren Brangers of Louisville with engaging in organized crime between 2009 and 2010."(http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011309220073 )

Last November, I wrote, "If the owner is in prison and the company's financial problems are not salvageable, there's not much any crisis consultant can do to save the company. But the Eastern Livestock crisis is unusual. Most of the time, a crisis communications consultant can advise a series of steps that include key audiences, messages, staff duties, and follow-up communications to mend bridges and prepare for possible aftershocks."

That's assuming the company wants to do "the right thing." In this case, the company just wants to keep its collective fannies out of prison.

"U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Eastern Livestock, which operates out of an office on West Market Street in New Albany and is now in bankruptcy, may owe more than 700 ranchers across the Midwest, South and West a total of $130 million from bad checks." And guess what?: "A message left at Eastern Livestock was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon."

The company owes money to about 740 ranchers in 30 states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Three of those owed money sued and forced Eastern into involuntary bankruptcy, which is pending. The company’s accounts were frozen by an Ohio judge in November, and USDA records show the company is bonded for only $875,000."

Here's a company that gets what it deserves. Allegedly. I just hope all those bilked farmers get what they deserve, too. By the way, Eastern's website is still functional as if there's nothing wrong. (http://easternlivestock.net/Home/tabid/569/Default.aspx)

Big 12 Conference Forces Commissioner To Walk the Plank of Its Sinking Ship

2011-09-23T13:25:00.007-04:00

Are you old enough to remember when college sports was about sports? Or maybe I just remember when I was innocent and naive.

I wrote earlier this week about the Big East's woes as Pitt and Syracuse defected for the ACC. It will cost each of them $5 million just to exit the Big East's door.

Yesterday, Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe was fired. He didn't leave because of the sweet 13-year, $1.2 billion contract he negotiated with Fox Sports. Instead, he got blamed for schools leaving the conference. Nebraska and Colorado are gone. Texas A&M plans to leave by July for the SEC, and four others — Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech — were looking into moving to the Pac-12 just this week.

"'I have no negative personal feelings toward our previous commissioner, but I'm alarmed by the fact that in 15 months we lost three teams and I'm aware in detail how some of those situations played out,' (University of Oklahoma President David) Boren said. 'I don't feel it was inevitable that we lost those three teams.'" (http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/pressure-mounts-big-12-salve-wounds-14585257?page=2)

The nine remaining schools greed (Ha! That was a real typo, a Freudian slip! I meant to say "agreed") to forfeit their first- and second-tier television rights to the Big 12 for the next six years. "That means all revenue from the top television games — shown currently on networks owned by ABC/ESPN and Fox — would continue to go to the Big 12 even if a school bolts to another league. The six-year term runs past the next negotiating period for the top-tier contract, currently with ABC/ESPN, in a bid to keep the nine schools together for the next contract." (http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/pressure-mounts-big-12-salve-wounds-14585257)

Moneyball, a movie about the Oakland A's baseball team, comes out in theaters today. A sequel by the same name could apply to major college football and basketball. So just how much of this money do you suppose the athletes, the stars of this show, receive? The NCAA makes sure the answer is zero. In fact:

"The NCAA passed down sanctions to the Boise State athletic department for violations in tennis, track and field and football, claiming a lack of institutional control, according to ESPN." (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/848261-boise-state-sanctions-how-the-ncaa-got-it-wrong)

Shame! Why were there football sanctions? Because some football players allowed recruits to sleep on their couch, that's why. Yeah, now there's a program out of control. I would suggest that it's the NCAA and its various conferences that lack "institutional control." More and greater crises loom for college sports run amok.

Target Taking Hits, Losing Sales, for Being Unprepared for Sales Volume

2011-09-22T15:39:00.006-04:00

Target has a mess on its hands and, appropriately, a bullseye on its back. The retailer hyped Missoni by Target, a line of goods from an Italian designer that customers could buy in the stores or on-line at greatly reduced prices.

But the store did such a good job promoting that it hasn't been able to come close to meeting the demand, leading to a crisis as customers rip the chain through social media. Target's website crashed and was down most of the day when Missoni at Target was first available on September 13. Stores ran out in hours. A special store that opened in Manhattan sold out of everything and locked the doors after six hours. It was supposed to be open for three days.

"About two hours after the 6 a.m. launch, many on Target's website came face-to-face with Target's mascot bulldog and the disappointing news: 'Woof! We are suddenly extremely popular. You may not be able to access our site momentarily due to unusually high traffic. Please stay here and we'll try to get you in as soon as we can!' This happened throughout the day. Some who were patient got through. Those who weren't left the website disappointed.

"Ben Rushlo, director of performance management at Keynote Systems Inc., which tracks websites' performance, said that he couldn't remember the last time a site stayed down most of the day. He said usually, a website slowly deteriorates throughout the day — with minor glitches becoming more prevalent — before crashing. 'It wasn't your normal meltdown,' he said (http://www.timesonline.com/news/national/target-s-blunder-with-designer-continues/article_aa5cbdc4-2c9e-5d7e-91d0-af13d818d62b.html)

Many who did get through with orders had items disappear from their online shopping carts. Some couldn't check out. Some who received their goods started selling them on eBay for more than double Target's prices.

So how has Target been winning back loyal customers? "'A lot of companies don't want to fix the problem,' (C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group) said. 'They feel it's better to let it go away. But the problem is that's a dangerous strategy.'"

We preach that at the Institute for Crisis Management just about daily. Some heed the warning; others take their chances and dig foxholes. The latter is pretty much what Target is doing.

I had to look hard and do a search under the media tab on Target's website. All I found was this brief message: "The nationwide launch of Missoni for Target on Sept. 13 was met by unprecedented demand, both in our stores and online at Target.com. This demand impacted our Target.com site and affected the shipment and delivery of select guest orders. Providing an exceptional guest experience is incredibly important to Target, and we have a team dedicated to addressing those guests who have been affected." (http://pressroom.target.com/pr/news/target-statement-regarding-missoni-Sept2011.aspx?ncid=38121)

Target's Facebook page is more of the same -- promotional stuff. A glance through readers' comments reveals most are positive, but some carry a grudge about some employment issues or an accusation about not supporting our soldiers. But nothing I see there suggests Target is getting its message out about its crisis response. Some say that's costing business.

"'This was badly handled,' said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a New York customer research firm that has an index that shows Target's image has taken a hit. 'What was supposed to be engaging and delightful is now the opposite — disappointment....'

"He said the negative publicity has pushed down Target's reading on (his) company's Loyalty Index, which measures brand reputation, among other things, to 109 from 119 in August. Brands should have at least a 116, Passikoff says, and anything under 100 signals 'trouble.'"

Others disagree. Brian Sozzi, a Wall Street Strategies analyst, for example, doesn't think customers will stay mad for long. That may be true. But can a retailer afford to shrug off even a short-lived decline in sales? After all, there are only 93 shopping days till Christmas.

Anne D'Innocenzio, AP retail writer whose story I've been referring to in this post, quotes one customer who probably is pretty typical. "Megan Bonner, 26, from Memphis, Tenn., bragged on Twitter after ordering $300 worth of Missoni dresses and cardigans until the next day when she got emails telling her that her shipments would be delayed. Nervous that she wouldn't get the items at all, she bought some of them at a nearby Target. But now she worries she won't be refunded for the other merchandise.

"'I feel violated. I feel taken advantage of,' she said. 'If I don't hear back from them in another week, I will call back. Maybe, I just won't go back anymore.'"

Retailers need to be more adept at communicating through a crisis than Target is doing to this point. There's too much at stake to make bad decisions or, just as bad, to not be prepared at all.

IHOPs Raided by Federal Agents; No Word Yet

2011-09-21T14:03:00.004-04:00

I praised IHOP recently for its communications following a shooting in its store in Carson City, Nevada. In light of a series of federal raids on seven IHOPS and managers' homes today, IHOP isn't doing so well. But it's still early, and the messages for this crisis are harder to craft than they were after the shooting. (http://www.ihop.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=39)

"Members of the FBI, US Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency took part in the restaurant raids, which began at approximately 6:00am local time." (http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/federal-agents-raid-seven-ihop-restaurants-in-ohio-and-indiana-20110920-wpms)

Authorities were reportedly investigating allegations of money laundering and undocumented workers according to WTOL-TV. "Special Agent Scott Wilson, of the FBI's Cleveland Division, said he could not comment on the case but that he was not aware of any arrests in connection with the raids, FOX News Channel reported."

All of the restaurants are owned by Terry Elk, whose real name is Tarek Elkafrawi. "Two homes were also raided, along with two storage units owned by Maazen Kadir, who is listed as the area manager of the west Toledo IHOP, WTOL-TV reported."

According to a noon news report, IHOP has pledged its support in the investigation. I'll be watching with interest to see what if anything IHOP decides it can say.

Big East Faces Traumatic Defections

2011-09-21T13:04:00.003-04:00

The Big East Conference is now the Little East.

The departure of Pit and Syracuse for the Atlantic Coast Conference leaves seven football members. Athletic directors and presidents from those seven, including TCU which joins next year, held an emergency meeting yesterday. The outcome of the meeting depends on who's talking.

You won't learn anything new from the Big East web site (http://www.bigeast.org/). I see nothing yet about the defection to the ACC or the meeting with member universities.

According to USA Today, "Big East commissioner John Marinatto said member schools are committed to building a conference 'stronger than it has ever been in both basketball and football.'"

That wasn't the take-away by an anonymous attendee. "The official said league schools are committed to recruiting more schools but did not make any pledge to remaining in the league until it's clear what the league will look like. The official also said about four or five of the Big East schools are committed to keeping the league together, but the other two or three need to know where the league is headed before a firm commitment is made." (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/09/big-east-united-nations-conference-realignment/1)

The Big East's action plan consists of considering an increase in the exit fee, now standing at $5 million. Beyond that, "One possible option for the Big East was merging with five Big 12 schools if the Big 12 began to unravel if Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State left for the Pac-12. However, late Tuesday night, the Pac-12 said it would not expand. The second option for the Big East would be to add Navy and Air Force."

If you're interested in reading about the Big East, Pitt, and Syracuse, check out this editorial from ESPN. "Hypocrisy alert! Funny how some of the schools and major administrative players in the Big East and ACC realignment drama have done philosophical 180s. Just goes to show that loyalty always seems to have an expiration date." (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&page=wojciechowski-110921&sportCat=ncf).

The Big East seems to be communicating with the leadership of its remaining members. But it's forgetting about the fans, both students and adults, and taxpayers who are buying the tickets and paying taxes.

And remember, Big East, you are a conference for many more sports than just football and basketball.

Crane Falls Over Onto Nursing Home

2011-09-20T12:50:00.004-04:00

A Louisiana retirement home suffered a crisis yesterday that could have been far worse than it was. A 110-foot crane, on site to remove an air conditioner on the roof, toppled into the nursing home, crashing through the ceiling and bursting water pipes. One employee was treated for minor injuries, but none of the residents was in the so-called creative corner when the crane fell.

I have trouble understanding why so few retirement homes have crisis communications plans. I don't know if Live Oak at The Oaks in Shreveport has a crisis communications plan. If not, someone in corporate had some pretty good sense in responding.

According to the website of parent company Willis-Knighton, "Out of concern for their safety, all residents in the East and West wing of the Health Center at Live Oak were moved from their rooms to other areas on the property while structural damage is being evaluated.

"The lobby of Live Oak at The Oaks has sustained damage and flooding from pipes broken when the crane fell and the area has been cordoned off. Structural experts have been called in to evaluate the damage and assess safety of the building. Any activities involving outside participants at The Oaks of Louisiana through Tuesday, Sept. 20, have been postponed."

Today, some 24 hours after the accident, Willis-Knighton updated its site. "Live Oak residents at The Oaks of Louisiana had an uneventful night following an accident Monday morning when a construction crane fell on the health center building

“'All residents are happy. They slept well,' says Kevin Fuhrman, chief of operations for The Oaks. The 110-foot crane is expected to be removed this morning by a larger crane that arrived late Monday night from Longview, Texas. Fuhrman says the process is expected to take a couple of hours, at which time damage will be assessed." (http://www.oaksofla.com/Home.aspx)

A key stakeholder when it comes to nursing homes are the families of its residents. They need reassurance that their loved ones are safe and receiving proper care. I have yet to find a nursing home that is prepared for a crisis. Sure, such a plan wouldn't have a chapter for cranes falling through the roof. But it certainly should have sections to cover natural disasters and fires, complete with statements for the media, the website, residents, and residents' families.

A group of nursing homes could join together to cover the cost of a crisis communications plan. Why so many don't is a mystery to me and a potential crisis for them. You nursing homes bear a great many crisis risks, any one of which could sink your company. Willis-Knighton exercised good communications judgement on its website and with reporters. How would you have done? (http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110920/NEWS01/109200317/Crane-falls-Shreveport-nursing-home?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE)

Reno Aircraft Plummets Into Spectators

2011-09-19T11:00:00.006-04:00

Last month, a stunt pilot crashed during an air show in Kansas City. No one on the ground was injured. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/08/stunt-pilot-crashes-and-show-must-go-on.html)

But in Reno last weekend, a pilot crashed into the stands and killed at least 10 people, including himself, and injured about 70. "Pilot Jimmy Leeward had said the changes made the P-51 Mustang faster and more maneuverable, but in the months before Friday's crash even he wasn't certain exactly how it would perform. 'I know it'll do the speed,' he said in a podcast uploaded to YouTube in June. 'The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be OK.'" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=140582880)

The future of the Reno air races is now in doubt. "In the highly competitive, bravado-filled world of air racing, pilots go for broke on the ground and in the sky, hitting speeds of 500 mph. Leeward is the 20th pilot to die at the air races since they began 47 years ago, but Friday's crash was the first in which spectators were killed.

"Some experts say the planes are pushed to such limits — muscled up to exceed 500 mph — that the last-minute inspections of the aircraft at Reno and strict medical and training standards for pilots are scant hedge against disaster. And while safety concerns had stopped such races elsewhere, the 47-year-old contest has remained a popular fixture in northern Nevada." (http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/17/nation/la-na-reno-air-safety-20110918)

The FAA is covering its fanny. "In a prepared statement, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said that officials for the agency and the event's sponsor, the Reno Air Racing Assn., 'thoroughly vet all pilots and aircraft before they are allowed to perform.'

"But Gregor also said the FAA depended on the racing association's technical experts to inspect the aircraft. 'FAA inspectors review records to ensure these inspections have been done,' he said. He said the 'FAA closely examines the organization's racecourse and proposed spectator area with the goal of ensuring that a crash or midair collision does not endanger spectators.'"

This crisis reminds me of the stage that collapsed at the Indiana state fair last month. Innocent people who were there to be entertained died or were injured. Someone will pay dearly for this air disaster. And the annual air races probably never will be held again, much to the chagrin of merchants who make money from visitors.

"Protective measures at the National Championship Air Races weren't able to prevent Friday's disaster. 'This is an ultra-hazardous event,' says one air accident expert."

Colorado Cantaloupes Recall Affects Innocent Growers, Too

2011-09-17T16:07:00.007-04:00

A crisis can paint many with a broad brush. That's what's happening to cantaloupe growers following a recall of melons from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado.

"A company spokeswoman confirmed that one of the Jensen Farms cantaloupes, sampled from a store, tested positive for listeria. The cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 and Sept. 10 and distributed throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

"Several Colorado grocery stores have removed cantaloupe from shelves, though there has been no official recall. Jensen Farms is the first and only farm to have voluntarily recalled its cantaloupe.... During this period, the company shipped a total of just over 300,000 cases.

"Officials said because they do not know when or where the potential contamination occurred, the company recalled the entire harvest. Officials still do not know how or where the contamination may have occurred within the supply chain....

"Jensen's fourth-generation family farm in Holly, normally busy with harvest now, was ghostly quiet after the suspected listeria contamination forced Jensen to shut down Monday and destroy his cantaloupe crops." (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29191856/detail.html)

Recalls like this affect innocent others. "(Kent Lusk, owner of the 900-acre Lusk Farm) echoed complaints by several Lower Arkansas Valley farmers that health investigators should have pinpointed the source of the outbreak before issuing such a blanket claim against farmers.

“'The protocol should be, they need to have the facts first. They can’t prove anything. In the U.S. I thought you were innocent until proven guilty and people who grow cantaloupe are not guilty,' Lusk said." (http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/farmers-vow-to-survive-listeriosis-cantaloupe-recall/article_97df3ae0-e0eb-11e0-86b1-001cc4c03286.html)

No, he's wrong. In reality, when it comes to recalls, everyone is guilty, especially when it comes to products like cantaloupes that aren't diet staples. Farmers need to be prepared to communicate.

"On Monday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment warned consumers not to eat cantaloupe from the 'Rocky Ford growing region' for fear of contracting listeriosis, a sometimes deadly bacterial infection. The warning set off widespread dumping of cantaloupes from store shelves, school menus and other venues.... The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 'at least 22 people in seven states have been infected with the outbreak-associated strains of listeria monocytogenes as of Wednesday....'"

"Bill and Leonida Sackett have been farming near Rocky Ford for 30 years. Leonida said Friday that sales of cantaloupe at their stand at 20277 E. Highway 50 in Rocky Ford had picked up 'a little bit.'

“'We had the four days with no business for cantaloupe. We lost lots of money,' she said. The Sacketts were selling the third crop of cantaloupe grown on 40 acres of their 200-acre spread. Customers were starting to buy cantaloupe Friday, although they bought fewer than before, Sackett said. 'Before they bought five or 10 cantaloupe. Now they are just buying a few,' she said....

"In her 24 years of managing the stand, she said she could not recall any similar threat to the family’s livelihood. She said her big fear is the long-term impact of the recall. 'I don’t know what the sales will be like next year,” Sackett said. “That’s the one that’s kind of scary.'” (http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/farmers-vow-to-survive-listeriosis-cantaloupe-recall/article_97df3ae0-e0eb-11e0-86b1-001cc4c03286.html)

Meanwhile, Lusk and his fellow farmers are taking action. “'In fact, on Saturday we will be having a customer appreciation day and we will be selling chilies, watermelons and cantaloupes,' Lusk said of the farm’s produce stand on U.S. 50 just west of La Junta."

Jensen Farms owner Eric Jensen is responding to the crisis appropriately: with regrets, but without accepting liability. Yet. Authorities still don't know whether the listeria came from the farm or a handler in the supply chain. "'We're still in shock,' Jensen said, choking with emotion. 'We're completely focused on our recall efforts right now.'"

Here come the law suits. "Charles and Tammie Palmer said they bought a cantaloupe at a WalMart in Colorado Springs on Aug. 17, but Charles didn't eat it until Aug. 19.... The 71-year-old Colorado Springs man quickly recovered from the stomach ache but 11 days later, he couldn't get out of bed because he had a massive headache, his wife said. On Aug. 31, Charles Palmer became non-responsive and was hospitalized.

"'It's horrible, it's scary. I don't think he'll ever be able to drive again because of the confusion,' Tammie said. 'It's hard to see him in bed, not doing anything....'

"The Palmers' attorney, Bill Marler, said the cantaloupe Palmer ate was from Jensen Farms.... The lawsuit, filed in El Paso County, names Jensen Farms and Walmart as defendants." (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29191856/detail.html)

Jensen Farms has a spokesperson, as mentioned above.

"Company spokeswoman Amy Philpott made a number of points regarding the recall:

"• The company is run by two brothers who are quite upset that anyone might be getting sick from their cantaloupe. They stopped production on Monday when the State of Colorado issued a general listeria alert for the melons from their region.

"• On Monday afternoon, Jensen began working with their marketing company to get customers to pull the melons off the shelves.

"• They don't know how many melons are being recalled.

"• Jensen produces about 40 percent of the cantaloupes from this region.

"• This is very unusual. Listeria is typically associated with processing. However, this outbreak involves whole melons.

"• State investigators have been on the farm, swabbing harvest equipment and packing equipment.

"• Jensen also grows wheat, pumpkin, alfalfa and corn.

"'This company is really, really emotionally impacted by this and they wanted to do the right thing … being proactive,' Philpott said." (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29191856/detail.html)

No matter what your business is, a crisis not of your making can cut into sales. Your organization needs an operations plan (What do we do?), a communications plan (What do we say and to whom?), and a recovery plan (How do we get back to business as usual?).

Dr. Oz A-Peels to Apple Juice Drinkers With Over-the-Rainbow Lab Tests

2011-09-16T14:40:00.007-04:00

Legend has it that William Tell shot an apple off his son's head. Apples have been a target for cheap shots ever since.

I remember the great apple scare of 1989 when we were told that apples contained a cancer-causing pesticide called alar. Many needlessly stopped eating apples and apple products. The American Council on Science and Health said, "The case remains to this day one of the supreme examples how a combination of environmentalists, 'public interest' lawyers, publicists, and members of the news media can foist a bogus health scare on an unwitting public." (http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubid.1777/pub_detail.asp)

Why apples? Why not peaches, plums, or cherries? Because, as William Tell knew, apples made a better target. What fruit says health and well-being better than an apple? It's America, motherhood, and the fruit patriotic pies are made from.

Why, then, do you suppose Dr. Oz, host of a popular daytime TV show about health, chose to target apple juice instead of orange, grape, or boysenberry? Because apples are symbolic, that's why. As a result, those who produce and sell apple juice have another crisis on their hands.

"Dr. Mehmet Oz suggested on a recent airing of his syndicated TV show...that apple juice contains unacceptably high levels of arsenic. And he's refusing to budge from that position, saying it's time for the nation to take a closer look at its food supply, particularly given how much food is imported from other countries where farming standards -- such as pesticide use -- are not the same as U.S. standards.

"'I want everyone out there who has already purchased apple juice to keep drinking it,' Oz told ABC News. 'I don't have any concerns about it in the short run. My bigger concern is over the next decade or the next generation. We may be exposing our kids to needlessly high levels of arsenic.'" (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/apple-juice-flap-wont-cause-dr-oz-to-back-down-.html)

Dr. Oz explains on his website, "In just one type of juice, there can be apple concentrate from up to seven countries. Although arsenic has been banned in the US for decades, it’s not always regulated in other countries where it may be in the water supply or used in pesticides contaminating the juice you're giving to your children. The EPA has a limit on arsenic in drinking water – the level allowed is 10 parts per billion. Currently, there is no limit on arsenic in apple juice." (http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-investigates-arsenic-apple-juice)

Five brands of apple juice were tested by Dr. Oz's lab. The companies tested their own products and found levels lower than those cited on the show. (For companies' initial responses, see http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/juice-companies-respond.)

Gerber's juice was accused of having the highest levels of arsenic. On its website, the company responded, "Gerber’s results are supported by additional testing from the FDA. The FDA tested Gerber product samples from the same manufacturing lot and confirmed our product is safe and within acceptable ranges. Ingredients used in foods and beverages may contain trace amounts of various substances that naturally occur in the environment. Trace substances, such as arsenic, are found in low levels and pose no health risk."

Dr. Oz is under attack by more than the five juice companies. "Among the critics is Dr. Richard Besser, the former head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who lit into Oz on 'Good Morning America.' He described the Oz segment as an 'extremely irresponsible' report that tugs at the heartstrings of parents and was akin to yelling 'Fire!' in a movie theater." (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/apple-juice-flap-wont-cause-dr-oz-to-back-down-.html)

The FDA also takes exception to the report. "In letters to the show posted on its website, the agency says that its testing -- which included one of the same lots featured in the segment -- didn't find elevated levels of arsenic. The agency was displeased by the report in other ways as well, saying it didn't distinguish between organic arsenic and inorganic arsenic and that it compared acceptable levels of arsenic found in apple juice to that found in water. The FDA has a stricter standard for drinking water because people drink more water than apple juice."

Aleta Miller is a former member of the Genesis Juice Cooperative and has been around apple juice processing for years. "Miller said there is organic arsenic in the juice, but none that is a health concern. 'There's a natural occurring amount in the seeds of the apples that are arsenic, but it's not dangerous for human consumption,' Miller said. 'You would have to drink probably 10,000 gallons of apple juice in order to die, but then you would die anyway.'" (http://www.kval.com/news/local/129926063.html)

Despite support from an assortment of outside experts, apple juice producers will face this crisis for some time to come. Dr. Oz is viewed by many as a more credible source of information than many other "doctors" on daytime TV. Some loss of sales seems inevitable as juice makers strategize ways to reach consumers with their message of safeness. And even though Dr. Oz himself advises viewers not to stop drinking apple juice they may have purchased when they didn't know better, he will go for the ratings on September 21 when he rehashes the issue again.

In the meantime, eat an apple. They say an apple a day keeps the Dr. Oz away.

Dog-Eat-Dog World Comes Back to Bite Mayor

2011-09-15T16:38:00.009-04:00

"Stupid is as stupid does." Here is a crisis that is happening because of stupid: a poor decision and some thoughtless quotes to the media. This crisis never had to get as far as it has.

"'Immediately when I went in and opened the door, the smell hit me in the face,' said Lynda Sylvester. Sylvester says she couldn't believe what she saw inside the J.B. Ogle Animal Shelter (in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the river from Louisville) on August 29th.

"'I saw feces on dogs,' said Sylvester. 'The dogs were filthy. There's no food. No water. There was water all over the floor. The drains were stopped up. All the animals had feces in their cages.' Sylvester went inside and took photos. She says she showed them to Mayor Tom Galligan and the media." (http://www.wave3.com/story/15404244/animal-rights-activists-say-shelter-is-neglecting-animals)

WAVE-3 TV asked Shelter Director Harry Wilder about the mess. "'Because of the time frame I guess,' said Wilder. 'I mean they're messy every morning.' He says the photos were taken before they had cleaned for the day and the mess was from overnight."

By the time the mayor inspected the shelter, he pronounced it to be clean. However -- and here's where the stupid decision comes into play -- "WAVE 3 has learned Galligan ordered the staff to close the kennel to the public after seeing those pictures, but residents can still see individual animals and adopt. Jeffersonville spokesperson Larry Thomas says it's for liability reasons and to prevent someone from sharing pictures like these before investigating."

That's more crap than there was in the cages.

Wilder has held his position for 10 years and has been appointed by two mayors. WAVE 3 asked about his experience with animals before he took this job.

"'I have none,' said Wilder. 'I was a meat cutter for nearly 40 years. I think the position is simply to...manage the people that I have working for me. The position don't call for anybody to be an animal person.' He claims the attacks against him are political."

And there you have it. A stupid quote. The animal shelter director explains, "The position don't call for anybody to be an animal person." He goes on to claim to be a victim of politics.

And then the crisis got even worse. "The Josephine B. Ogle Animal Shelter in Jeffersonville will remain closed while workers clean and vaccinate about 30 dogs, one day after a veterinarian discovered an adopted puppy had the deadly canine distemper virus....

"Wilder went against the advice of about six to eight veterinarians who recommended the remaining dogs be euthanized in case the virus had spread. Distemper tests are considered expensive, hard to find, and unreliable, according to shelters. A spokeswoman at Louisville Metro Animal Services said the only accurate distemper test can be performed after the dog is already dead.

"The news comes just one day after protesters questioned the conditions inside the shelter. Wilder says while the shelter is closed, they will repaint and repair some walls. The shelter is expected to stay closed for the next couple of weeks." (http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Jeffersonville-animal-shelter-remains-closed-after-distemper-case-129548063.html)

Bill Lamb, president and general manager of WDRB-TV in Louisville, was critical in an on-air editorial. "But what is the shelter's new policy to address this problem in the future? From now on, only staff members will be allowed back in the kennel area.

"That's it? No pledge to never fail so miserably again? No discipline for the people responsible for the documented neglect. This is the way the Soviet Union used to operate. A story is reported that casts the authorities in a bad light? Why, just make sure the story can no longer be reported so no one can see what you're doing anymore

"Problem solved." (http://www.wdrb.com/story/15450681/animal-shelter-cover-up-9-13-11)

The editorial gave more people a springboard to launch attacks:

"We need someone in there that does care about the animals."

"Everyone needs answers from the Mayor. What is he hiding?"

"Honestly, it's not political, its not about people, its about the ANIMALS. We don't want them living in dirty situations."

"Mayor Galligan appointed his BEST FRIEND Harry Wilder as the "Director" of Animal Control. His resume? Butcher for 40 years; prison term for racketeering and gambling; ice cream vendor; bookie...AND he's quoted as saying, 'I'm not sentimental about animals, living or dead.' Yes, a FINE choice as Director of Animal Control."

The stupid action of keeping the public out of the kennels and the stupid quotes about butchering and managing only people are out there now. What would you do if you were the mayor and wanted your constituents to support you in the next election? If you were the animal control director, what could you do to demonstrate that you really do care about pets so you can keep your job and not be an embarrassment to the mayor?

Smart people can do really stupid things. If you're not convinced, see the posts below about Judy Green and Outback Steakhouse. One of the challenges of crisis communications is identifying actions to undo errors in judgement. Both Galligan and Wilder could use some crisis communications help right now. Both are guilty of errors in judgement.

Organizational Integrity Comes Before Individual's Stubbornness

2011-09-14T21:23:00.006-04:00

I feel a need to write the final chapter in the saga of Metro Councilwoman Judy Green of Louisville, Kentucky, in case you've been following her folly through this blog.

My message all along has been that sometimes it's better for people in the public's spotlight to express regrets, make things right if possible, and resign and/or lay low until time passes and people forgive or forget. If people in crisis continue to hang around and make headlines, they are reminding people of the accusations against them. Then it becomes much harder to forget.

The Metro Ethics Commission recommended unanimously last summer that Green should be removed from office because she intentionally violated four sections of the city's ethics law. She was on trial before metro council this week after five fellow councilpersons petitioned for her expulsion. Last Friday, she finally resigned, but it was too late. The trial went on without her and without her attorney, who walked out on the proceedings.

Twenty metro councilpersons who served as jury voted unanimously yesterday to remove her from office -- the first councilperson removed for ethics violations since the Civil War.

The guilty finding means Green can't run for her seat again until 2014. If she had resigned in a timely way, she could have run in 2012. Realistically, she would have a hard time winning in either event. But by dragging out the process, she forever has associated her name with corruption. She never once offered an explanation of her actions as evidence of her innocence. Her defense was that everyone on council makes even shadier deals, and that her attack was racially motivated.

When a higher-up in your organization faces censure and removal, the integrity of the organization must come first. The accused must realize that, as Green should have done immediately. Instead, she became a liability to the entire council and to her constituents.

Outhouse Steakback's Neurosis Ruins Beautiful Solution to Small Problem, Creates Its Own Crisis

2011-09-10T09:08:00.010-04:00

I'm not eating in the right restaurants. It appears some, in the past, have served sample drinks to people waiting for tables. No one ever gave me a free drink. Now, that day has passed, and I'll never get my free drink. Applebee’s, in Madison Heights, Michigan, inadvertently served apple juice and alcohol to a 15-month-old last spring. That was just after a 2-year-old was served alcoholic sangria instead of orange juice at an Olive Garden in Lakeland, Florida.

I never heard about those mess-ups until Outback Steakhouse served alcohol to three children in a restaurant just north of Cincinnati. Corporate people in Tampa turned an ooops into a crisis that went national via the Associated Press. The Mason, Ohio, restaurant owner and the offended families turned the error into a win-win. Then corporate left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. It will be a long time before I go to an Outback again.

Kim Ehrhart of Camden, Michigan, said she specifically asked a young female whether drink samples she was offering contained alcohol, and the young lady assured her they were alcohol-free. It wasn't until they were seated that Erhart tried one of the drinks and tasted alcohol in it. She asked a manager about the contents, which included vodka and schnapps, and was told the drinks did indeed contain alcohol.
The family ate dinner on the house, returned to Michigan, and phoned the owner a couple days later, as the manager had asked. “'He said he couldn’t sleep, he was worried sick about it,' Ehrhart said. 'He seemed like a really nice guy. He said, ‘What can I do for you guys, is there anything I can do?’' Ehrhart asked him to donate to the family’s church food pantry. She said he agreed." (http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110908/NEWS01/110908006/Outback-served-alcohol-children-Mason-location)

Erhart said she never had plans to sue Outback Steakhouse and still doesn't. But maybe she should. This was a potential crisis that was handled quietly by the restaurant owner to everyone's satisfaction. Then along comes OSI Restaurant Partners, parent company of Outback Steakhouse.

"But then the family was asked to contact the restaurant franchise’s legal department in Florida. That’s where they were told the server had been fired, their meal had been comped, so the company felt there was no need for the donation."

Unbelievably, a PR person and a VP gave a different account of the incident. Mind you, these people were in Florida, not Ohio. How they knew what really happened is something we'll probably never know.

"Stephanie Amberg, vice president of public relations for OSI Restaurant Partners of Tampa, Fla., said in an email that the drinks were handed out by a trained bar server who knew the drinks contained alcohol.

"Ehrhart said people in her party grabbed the samples off of a tray that the server was holding.

"But Joseph Kadow, executive vice president of the restaurant chain, said the server gave samples of specialty cocktails to adults only -- and 'a member of the family then gave the sample to two of their children,' while the server was not present.

Ehrhart’s sister, Kelly Kerwin, 33, of Garden City, Mich., said, 'That’s not how it went down.'"

Amberg claimed the company balked only when Ehrhart requested a second donation to another food pantry. “'However, upon receiving a request for an additional donation to a second church in exchange for not ‘going public,’ we determined we would not follow that path,' she said.

"Ehrhart said she thinks the company misunderstood their request to split its intended donation between her church and her sister’s church. At last word yesterday morning, corporate was saying the Ohio manager is considering a donation as promised.

“'Outback is not trying to cast the Kerwins in a bad light and suspect they did not realize that companies cannot be put in a position of ‘buying silence,’' Amberg’s statement said."

"Buying silence?" That's not how the people who were actually involved described it. “'Our local food pantry is running real low,' she said. 'I just figured everybody wins this way.'"

This is a case of Legal running amok. Everything was fine until some attorney apparently decided that making a donation was admitting liability. The local manager and owner handled the situation appropriately to prevent a crisis. Corporate turned a nothing into a crisis, defined by the Institute for Crisis Management as "A significant business disruption that stimulates extensive news media coverage. The resulting public scrutiny will affect the organization’s normal operations and also could have a political, legal, financial and governmental impact on its business." (http://www.crisisexperts.com/crisisdef_main.htm)

We need to be aware of potential legal liabilities in a wide range of daily business problems, for sure. But those liabilities are softened or obliterated when we "do the right thing." If someone is going to sue, they're going to sue. That doesn't preclude us from, say, making a promised donation to a food pantry. We can't be so hung up on our fear of litigation that we fail to manage a "situation" before it becomes a crisis.

In the Outback example, our reputations are at steak.

Sometimes Retreat Is the Best Way to Handle Personal Crises

2011-09-09T15:23:00.005-04:00

We are taught that perseverance is a virtue. What we aren't taught is that sometimes quitting is much better.

That was the unsolicited advice I gave Metro Councilwoman Judy Green of Louisville, Kentucky, in a post here on June 16 (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/06/crisis-communicators-must-tell-leaders.html). And no less than four times after that. She should have waved a white flag months ago and saved herself the time and trouble and embarrassment, not to mention the political damage. Leaving office one way or another was inevitable. The inevitable occurred today on the eve of her "impeachment" trial.

The Metro Ethics Commission recommended unanimously Green should be removed from office because she intentionally violated four sections of the city's ethics law. She is accused of a conflict of interest in running the Green Clean Team last summer. This is a valuable initiative that gave jobs to teens for clean-up and beautification projects. However, she has been accused of using her official position "to secure unwarranted privileges for herself or family; paid family members more than others doing the same job; and had personal involvement in the program to the point that it impaired her objectivity."

She also is accused of giving a $7,500 grant to the non-profit 100 Black Men of Louisville, and then making the organization reroute $5,600 of the grant to other agencies at her direction without Metro Council’s knowledge. The Ethics Commission ruled against her on both charges.

I know Judy Green. If only her judgement were as good as her heart. "'I will fight to the bitter end to do what I was elected to do,' she said (in June).... "'I am not going to resign,' she said, emphatically. '7, 600 people elected me and I've done an excellent job of representing those people." (http://www.wave3.com/story/14888404/councilwoman-judy-green-i-am-not-going-to-resign)

She never produced documentation to back her up. Instead, she, her husband, and a handful of supporters claim racism, without explaining why other black council members aren't facing charges. Green skipped the Metro Council meeting last night, choosing to join some 40 supporters and criticize her opponents. “'I”m up there on the cross,' Green told supporters." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110909/NEWS01/309090074/Green-resigns-from-Louisville-Metro-Council?odyssey=tabtopnewstextHome)

Two weeks ago, she requested a two-week extension to her hearing date due to undisclosed health issues. The council said no. Earlier this week, her attorney refused to turn over requested documents because either they were irrelevant or they didn't exist.

As late as last night, she told the media she would never resign. "Never" lasted until 11:48 this morning. Her refusal to resign earlier means Metro Council can't act on her resignation until the next council meeting in two weeks, so she will be dragged through the mud at her hearing next week anyway.

Green made pretty much every mistake in the book. A quiet resignation and a couple years to let things cool and she probably could have resumed her political career. Instead, she leaves office in disgrace and leaves the taxpayers with her legal bills.

Remember people like Green and Anthony Weiner and Brett Favre, for that matter. There is a time when quitting is the most effective way to relieve an impending crisis.