Crisis Communication Plan

Hire a diplomat as your Chief of Staff Chiefs of Staff win on three things: cadence, clarity, calm. Former U.S. Foreign Service Officers (career diplomats) build those muscles in the wild and bring them straight to the C-suite. Why recruiters miss out on ex-diplomats' profiles (and how candidates need to reframe): “No corporate title history.” Reframe for operational function: Deputy Chief of Mission ≈ COO-adjacent operator; Chief of Staff to an Ambassador ≈ enterprise CoS across functions. “Industry experience?” A CoS job is coordination and execution. FSOs are domain-agnostic operators who translate complexity into action. “Will they translate?” FSOs' careers are translation—of ambiguity into plans, of tradeoffs into decisions, of friction into forward motion. What you get with an ex-diplomat as a CoS (and why it matters): 1) Decision cadence → velocity A CoS’s job is to turn strategy into a weekly drumbeat. In one tour, we rebuilt our exec rhythm: pre-reads due 48 hours before, options framed with trade-offs, owners and milestones visible. Result: fewer meetings, faster decisions, less thrash. Translation for business: OKRs show up on calendars—and in numbers. 2) Executive communications → crisp choices Diplomacy is the art of the one-pager: options, risks, recommends. We've briefed principals in chaotic moments using exactly that format; the meeting shifts from updates to decisions. Your CEO gets time back. Your teams get clarity. 3) Stakeholder orchestration → alignment without drama Think Legal, HR, Finance, Security, Comms—all rowing together. On a complex initiative, we built cross-functional “sync” with clear lanes and escalation rules. Conflicts didn’t vanish; they got resolved quickly, with eyes on the goal. 4) Crisis hygiene → calm under pressure Crisis exposes your operating system. We re-wrote our accountability playbook, pre-assigned roles, and drilled short. When it counted, we hit full headcount accountability on the clock. In a company, that same hygiene shows up as business continuity that actually works. 5) Culture change that sticks → adoption, not just memos Compliance lagged on a “routine” safety check until we reframed it around integrity (“we watch out for each other”), then paired it with short town-hall nudges. Adoption snapped into place and held. Lesson: tie small behaviors to identity, not just rules. 6) Information that moves work → useful reporting only We stopped writing to write and started writing to inform a decision: who needs this, what will they do with it, by when? Readership and impact spiked. For a CoS, that’s your filter for every dashboard and deck. 7) Change management → process + narrative Rolling out new tooling (AI/automation, knowledge systems) succeeded when we shipped toolkits, not slogans: role-specific guides, sample data, “yes/if” guardrails, and a simple support channel. Adoption followed because it was turnkey. #hireadiplomat #hireanFSO #diplomacy #CoS #hiring #recruiting

🚨 The Email That Made 200 Employees Panic The subject line read: “We need to talk.” That was it. No context. No explanation. Within minutes, the office air felt heavier. You could hear chairs creak as people leaned toward each other, whispering: 👉 “Did you see the mail?” 👉 “Do you think layoffs are coming?” 👉 “Why would he say that without details?” The silence in the cafeteria was louder than usual that day. Coffee cups stayed untouched, half-filled. Some stared at their screens, pretending to work, but their fingers hesitated above the keyboard. One manager later told me it felt like “a ticking clock in the background you can’t turn off.” What was meant to be a simple one-on-one call turned into an organization-wide anxiety spiral. Productivity dipped. Trust cracked. By evening, HR’s inbox was full of panicked questions. ⸻ 💡 When I stepped in as a trainer, the leader admitted: “I just didn’t think one line could create so much fear.” And that’s the truth: Leaders often underestimate the power of their words. A vague message is like sending a flare into the sky—everyone sees it, no one knows what it means, but everyone assumes the worst. We worked together on Crisis Communication Frameworks: • Lead with clarity: “I’d like to connect regarding Project X progress this Friday.” • Add emotional context: “No concerns—just a quick alignment call.” • Close with certainty: “This will help us stay on track as a team.” The difference? Next time he wrote an email, instead of panic, his team replied with thumbs-up emojis. Calm replaced chaos. ⸻ 🎯 Learning: Leadership isn’t just about strategy—it’s about how you sound in the small moments. One vague sentence can break trust. One clear message can build it back. If your leaders are unintentionally creating chaos through unclear communication, let’s talk. Because the cost of poor communication isn’t just morale—it’s millions. ⸻ #LeadershipCommunication #CrisisCommunication #ExecutivePresence #LeadershipSkills #CommunicationMatters #Fortune500 #TopCompanies #CXOLeadership #FutureOfWork #OrganizationalExcellence #StorytellingForLeaders #LeadershipDevelopment #CorporateTraining #ProfessionalGrowth #PeopleFirstLeadership

What McKinsey’s $650M Settlement Teaches Us About PR, Reputation, and the Arrogance of Thinking You’re Totally Untouchable: Assume every single email you send could end up on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. McKinsey’s $650 million settlement over its work with Purdue Pharma is more than just another corporate scandal—it’s a anti masterclass in what NOT to do when navigating ethical decisions, public perception, and crisis management. For a company full of the smartest people on earth, the missteps here are both stunning and deeply instructive. Here are five key lessons: 1️⃣ Ethics Are Non-Negotiable—Arrogance Doesn’t Protect You. The emails about “destroying everything” weren’t just unwise—they reeked of hubris. McKinsey’s advisors acted as though their brilliance made them untouchable. Spoiler: It didn’t. Assuming your actions won’t see the light of day is a mistake that smart companies don’t make—or survive. 2️⃣ Crisis Management Starts Before the Crisis. The lack of foresight in McKinsey’s actions is astounding. Advising a company at the center of a deadly opioid epidemic without considering the reputational fallout is a failure of both leadership and basic crisis PR principles. You can’t separate your business decisions from their social impact. 3️⃣ When the House is on Fire, Don’t Pour Gasoline. Destroying documents and obstructing justice weren’t just unethical—they were an invitation for harsher scrutiny. Bad decisions in a crisis amplify the fallout tenfold. Remember: transparency and accountability are your only lifelines once trust is broken. 4️⃣ Reputation Is Hard to Build, Easy to Destroy. For years, McKinsey was synonymous with trust, expertise, and discretion. Now, it’s associated with enabling one of the worst public health crises in modern history. This isn’t just a bad headline—it’s a permanent stain on the brand. 5️⃣ Your Emails Will Be Public Someday. The sheer audacity of assuming internal communications wouldn’t be scrutinized is baffling. Rule #1 of modern leadership: Assume everything you write, say, or email could be read aloud in court—or worse, go viral online. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - McKinsey’s downfall in this case wasn’t just about greed or bad judgment—it was about forgetting that being “too smart to fail” isn’t a long term winning strategy. For all of us working in PR, compliance, or leadership: Let this be a wake-up call. The line between smart risk and reckless behavior is thinner than you think—and the cost of crossing can be close to everything. My take is that while this is a massive hit to a reputation and potential aspects of its business, given its value to clients across industries, they are likely to recover over time if they change the culture that led to this incident. They will likely not get a second chance at a new culpa. What’s your take?

As geopolitical risks continue to evolve and intensify, it is essential for communication leaders to adapt and respond effectively to these challenges.   Recent geopolitical crises have underscored the importance of proactive and strategic communication. According to the AXA Future Risks Report 2024, geopolitical instability is now the second most concerning risk for experts globally, up from third place in 2023. At the same time, disinformation and misinformation on these crises, mainly led by technology, are expanding their potential consequences. This progression highlights the growing impact of geopolitical events on businesses and the need for robust communication strategies. Here are some key insights and thoughts I wanted to share:   👉 Anticipate and Listen: Setting up an infrastructure for listening and scenario planning is crucial. By strengthening our social listening and predictive capacities, we can better anticipate crisis and understand the different perspectives that exist around geopolitical issues. As one Chief Communication Officer (CCO) mentioned in the latest European Communication Monitor (ECM) report, "We need to be prepared every day to react, and at the same time, we have to be very clear about the frames in which we want to react."   👉 Consolidate and Connect: Strengthening internal discussions and nurturing a network of communication experts with diplomatic skills is vital. In a decentralized company, this helps in ensuring that our communication as a Group is sensitive to the nuances of different geopolitical contexts. As another CCO pointed out, "You also need experienced communicators in different countries who not only have a view of their country but also understand that even in a global company there is a global view that is not necessarily congruent with the view of each country.”   👉 Navigate Ambiguity: In a fragmented and polarized world, managing corporate communications means carefully choosing what to say and how to say it. This involves balancing business perspectives with stakeholder expectations and navigating the contradictions that arise from intensifying geopolitical risks.   👉 Engage Proactively: The expectations of stakeholders, including consumers and employees, are evolving. There is an increased demand for companies to take a stand on geopolitical issues. As highlighted in the ECM report, 58.6% of CCOs agree that the geopolitical context has a very concrete impact on business, and companies need to consider this evolution.   On a more specific note, the AXA Future Risks Report 2024 also reveals that 91% of experts believe insurers have a crucial role in safeguarding against emerging risks. As Chief Communications Officer, this is something I truly believe in, and I am grateful to rely on a network of very professional heads of communications, in all AXA entities, to help us spread the word, build resilience and strengthen trust during uncertain times!

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁. Cross functional collaboration isn't optional, isn't critical. Here's your systematic approach to stakeholder management during data outages: 🚨 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯-𝟮-𝟭 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 (First 3 minutes) → Minute 1: Acknowledge the incident publicly Post in #data-incidents Slack: "Investigating dashboard outage - ETA in 15 mins" This stops the flood of "is it just me?" messages → Minute 2: Assign roles Incident Commander (you): Own communication Technical Lead: Debug the pipeline Business Liaison: Field stakeholder questions → Minute 3: Send the template message (save this): "DATA INCIDENT - [Dashboard Name] Status: Under investigation Impact: [Reports affected] Next update: [Time] Contact: [Your name] for questions" → Instead of: "The pipeline is broken"  • Say: "Data sync delayed - investigating root cause" → Instead of: "We don't know when it'll be fixed"  • Say: "Implementing fix - validation needed before reports refresh" → Instead of: "It's complicated"  • Say: "Multiple systems involved - coordinating with [X team] for resolution" It's not about fixing what's broken, It about:  • 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 between teams  • 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 across business and tech  • 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 in data through transparency During data incidents, you're not just fixing pipelines—you're managing anxiety. Clear, frequent communication is your superpower. Want resilient data systems? Start with resilient team dynamics! How does your team handle data incident communication? 👇 ▶️ Stay tuned with me (Pooja) for more on Data Engineering. ♻️ Reshare if this resonates with you!

We’ve all seen how quickly a single moment on social media can spiral. One tone-deaf comment, one AI-generated response that misses the mark, or just a slow internal handoff and suddenly, your brand is trending for all the wrong reasons. When I started building our AI-First Mindset™ transformation program, I knew we couldn’t just focus on opportunity. We also had to prepare leaders for risk and that includes public-facing crises fueled by speed and automation. That’s why I developed a new module focused on building a social media crisis management plan designed for today’s AI-powered workplace. We cover the essentials: • How to build a clear, flexible crisis communication plan • The best crisis management tools to monitor and respond in real time • How to define team roles across marketing, legal, leadership and tech • And how to account for AI-powered systems that can escalate issues if not handled properly In a world where content and backlash move at machine speed, your people need clarity. That starts with a plan that’s actually usable and practiced before the pressure hits. This isn’t about fear. It’s about preparation. AI adoption comes with incredible potential, but it also changes how we manage trust. A good crisis response needs to e part of your broader AI change management strategy. If your team is using AI but hasn’t revisited your crisis plan, now’s the time. Stay tuned for practical guidance on creating crisis plans that perform under pressure. #DigitalCrisisStrategy #CrisisCommunication #CrisisResponse #DigitalCrisis #SocialMediaCrisis

I loved teaming up with Rachel Harris on the double-edged sword of social media in crisis comms. While I usually champion social's positive business impact, our Brandwatch session yesterday flipped the script. The good news? A strong listening strategy can be your early warning system for potential fires. But with AI and misinformation on the rise, that window is shrinking! We unpacked a 4 step framework and playbook approach to help keep brands ahead of the curve: 1. Prepare: Cover the Who, What, and How of your approach 2. Detect: Confirm your scope, alert triggers, and test 3. Evaluate: Have a consistent way to confirm the threat level of each message 4. Action: Have a pre-agreed approach for each risk level, and empower those needing to make a quick call on action. 💡 Key takeaways: Automation is your friend, stakeholder buy-in is crucial, and a consistent threat scale keeps everyone on the same page. #CrisisCommunications #SocialMediaListening #SocialMedia

Most leaders fail the bad news test. Here’s how you succeed. 👇 Many leaders wait until bad news hits – and then scramble to communicate it. But how you deliver bad news is what defines your leadership. Here are 10 strategies to do it with empathy, clarity, and confidence: 1 - 𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 ↳ Prepare before the crisis. Have clear messages ready. 2 - 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 ↳ Don’t delegate. Deliver the message yourself. 3 - 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 ↳ Say it once. Don’t drip-feed bad news. 4 - 𝐁𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 ↳ No sugarcoating. Explain what happened and what’s next. 5 - 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 ↳ Acknowledge emotions. Support your team. 6 - 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 ↳ Private setting. Zero distractions. Full attention. 7 - 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 ↳ Overcommunicate. Provide context. Avoid becoming the villain. 8 - 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 ↳ Be future-focused. Share the plan. Help people land on their feet. 9 - 𝐁𝐞 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐔𝐩 ↳ Keep the door open. Follow up regularly. 10 - 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 ↳ Be realistic — and give people a reason to stay engaged. The best leaders aren’t defined by the good times. They’re remembered for how they showed up when things got hard. ❓How do you manage bad news as a leader?  ♻️ Repost to help someone and follow me, Oliver Aust, for frameworks to lead when communication gets hard.

Your crisis communication plan is useless if you built it backwards. Most organizations start with what THEY want to say. Big mistake. Real crisis communication starts with a simple question: “Who needs to know what, when, and how?” Not your board. Not your PR team. Not your CEO. The people whose lives hang in the balance. Here’s what nobody wants to admit: There’s no such thing as “the general public.” That phrase is lazy thinking disguised as strategy. The “general public” is actually: → Parents picking up kids from school → Shift workers who missed the morning briefing → Elderly residents without smartphones → Non-native speakers in your community → People with disabilities who need different formats → Night-shift nurses just waking up Each group needs different information. Different timing. Different channels. I’ve watched crisis responses crash and burn because communicators got trapped in corporate-speak while families waited for answers. While employees wondered if they still had jobs. While communities needed to know if they were safe. Your audience isn’t a demographic. They’re real people facing real fear. They don’t care about your brand reputation right now. They care about their kids getting home safely. Their mortgage getting paid. Their neighborhood staying intact. The best crisis communicators I know? They can name their audiences. They know where Mrs. Chen gets her news. They get that teenagers won’t check email. They remember that third-shift workers are asleep during your 2 PM press conference. Three questions that should drive every crisis message: → What do they need to survive this moment? → What do they need to make the next decision? → What do they need to rebuild trust? Start with your audience. End with your audience. All of them - specifically. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve seen in crisis communication? Share your story below and let’s learn from each other’s experiences. 👇 The best crisis communicators I know never forget: we’re not managing messages. We’re serving people.

The overnight collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge has unleashed a wave of online conspiracy theories, spreading like wildfire across social media platforms. Within hours, some individuals were promoting baseless claims around the cause of the attack, ranging from cyber-attacks to intentional collisions on X. While misinformation during such events isn't new, the alarming pace and trust some of these accounts command pose significant challenges for Federal agencies and corporates alike. In times of crisis, the dissemination of misinformation on social media can wreak havoc, creating confusion, panic, and hindering effective response efforts. Moreover, it erodes trust in reliable sources of information, exacerbating the chaos and making it even more challenging to manage the situation.  For corporates, it's a reality that they are living in---that's where the importance of corporate preparedness comes into the picture. Here are a few suggestions that can help with your crisis preparedness: DURING THE CRISIS ✅ Establish Clear Communication Channels: Designate official spokespersons and platforms for disseminating accurate information. ✅Monitor Social Media and News Sources: Implement robust monitoring systems to track mentions and detect misinformation early. ✅Debunk False Information: Respond promptly with evidence-based rebuttals to false claims and communicate transparently with stakeholders. ✅Engage with Stakeholders: Demonstrate transparency and accessibility by engaging directly with stakeholders to address concerns. ✅Collaborate with Authorities and Experts: Pool resources and coordinate response efforts with relevant authorities and industry peers. ✅Monitor Sentiment and Feedback: Continuously monitor stakeholder sentiment to tailor communication strategies and address concerns. BEFORE CRISIS ❎ Educate Employees and Stakeholders: Provide training on media literacy and critical thinking skills to empower individuals to discern fact from fiction. ❎ Review and Update Crisis Communication Plans: Regularly review and update crisis communication plans based on lessons learned and emerging best practices. AFTER CRISIS ⭕ Evaluate and Learn: Conduct a thorough evaluation of the company's response to misinformation to inform future crisis preparedness efforts.