A crisis rarely starts in the press
It starts in the executive suite. With uncertainty about the facts, unclear roles, overly long decision-making processes, and poor leadership decisions. In a transparent world where employees, customers, stakeholders, and the media act in real time, the question is not whether you will be hit by a crisis, but rather when it will happen.
Today’s world is transparent. One unhappy customer on social media, one dissatisfied employee who goes to the media, or listeria in a single roll of cold cuts can set the haystack on fire.
The good news is that those who prepare best most often come out stronger on the other side. Because they are well prepared—and because they actually manage the crisis.
Before the crisis: Build credit in the bank
Relationships are the best insurance against being left exposed when the crisis hits.
Therefore, nurture your relationships in peacetime—with employees, key stakeholders, customers, shareholders, members, and the media. Build credibility on your own channels. That way, you build up credit in the bank that will benefit you when the storm truly rages.
Crises that arise completely unexpectedly, out of the blue, are the exception that proves the rule.
The rule is that most relevant issues that can turn into crises are already well known within a company or organisation. Therefore, you need strategic preparedness that continuously identifies, analyses, and manages the issues that are most important and most critical to you. What is, in more formal terms, called issues management.
Know your crisis team and each member’s role, and train your spokespersons. In practice, training and preparation are what make the difference between merely reacting and being in the driver’s seat when the hurricane hits.
The leader’s checklist before the crisis hits:
• Establish a crisis team with clear roles and a single decision-making chain
• Work with risk scenarios
• Media and social media monitoring that can be activated within minutes
• Train your spokespersons and test them in realistic simulations.
During the crisis: Speed + facts = credibility
In the first hours of a crisis, the narrative takes shape—and this is often where it is decided how you come out on the other side. In the order listed, you must work through this list—often in a very short time:
1. Establish and/or activate the crisis team
2. Get the facts straight
3. Identify key stakeholders
4. Define strategy and messages
5. Then you are ready to communicate.
Speed without control of the facts creates catastrophic mistakes. Facts without speed create a vacuum, and the pressure rises. Both damage credibility. Consider being proactive. Owning the bad story can significantly shorten the process and, in many cases, turn losses into trust.
Communicate like this:
• Speak to stakeholders first (employees, customers, shareholders, authorities)
• Be specific about mistakes, responsibility, and action. Drop the clichés!
• The same messages internally as externally
• Communicate as frequently as possible. Silence is interpreted as indifference or concealment.
Avoid the double crisis
The greatest risk is rarely the incident itself, but the handling of it.
Denial, silence, victim blaming, or fighting with critical voices can rarely be recommended. The double crisis occurs when the reaction becomes the story. Therefore, make sure to surround yourself with people who dare to ask the uncomfortable questions before employees, stakeholders, and the media do. And take control of the situation.
Remember Winston Churchill’s famous words: never let a crisis go to waste. A crisis can, in fact, be turned into an opportunity. If you handle the crisis sensibly, show accountability and leadership, you will often come out stronger on the other side.
After the crisis: From loss of control to cultural change
Crisis management does not end when the media storm subsides.
This is where perhaps the greatest strategic task begins: What have we learned? How great is the damage to our reputation? Is there trust in leadership? Put down the megaphone and begin quietly with employees and key stakeholders. Trust is good behaviour over time, not slogans. Start internally, show humility, and document progress.
The CEO’s role, short and to the point:
• Ownership: Set direction, take responsibility, show up
• Discipline: Stick to the agreed order and decision-making chain
• Integrity: Tell the truth early. It always comes out anyway.
The bottom line is that crisis communication is leadership communication.
Preparation before action, clarity under pressure, and calm, strategic rebuilding separate those who survive from those who do not. This is not “PR window dressing”, but strategic risk management that safeguards reputation, relationships, and long-term earnings.