I often say that good crisis management is good decision-making under stress. Steven Fink More Quotes by Steven Fink More Quotes From Steven Fink I never assign blame in a crisis. There is no benefit to doing so. Steven Fink blamecrisis In my experience, the public will forgive mistakes, provided they are acknowledged promptly and a remedial course of action is articulated. Lawyers often get in the way of this, which is a subject I cover in my book: how to deal with obstructionist lawyers in a crisis. Steven Fink forgivingmistakebook So many companies today, when first confronted by a crisis, go into a bunker mentality. They either say, "No comment," or they lie as a knee-jerk reaction. Neither of these sins, I believe, is generally committed on purpose. Rather, companies often panic when first confronted with a crisis and either say nothing, which looks like they're covering something up, or they speak what they wish was the truth. Steven Fink wishbelievelying Companies that do not actively practice, study, and plan for crisis communications - as well, of course, crisis management - are doomed to fail when a crisis befalls them. Crises are, in a word, inevitable, and those macho companies that think, "it can't happen here," or if it does, "I can handle it," will suffer the hardest failures. Steven Fink communicationsufferingthinking Social media has dramatically changed the playing field in terms of crisis communications - and any company that does not effectively use social media to take the pulse of its constituents on a constant basis, and know how to communicate with them in a crisis, is breaching its fiduciary responsibilities to its stakeholders. Steven Fink social-mediacommunicationresponsibility A moderate amount of stress - not too much, not too little - generally means you understand the problem and are psychologically stoked to solve it. Moderate stress yields the best, most optimum performance in a crisis. Steven Fink stressproblemmean Too often, business schools teach academic crisis management theory, if that, but given the diverse and unique nature of crises, all the theory in the world will not help you manage an actual crisis unless you know the basic mechanics. Steven Fink uniqueworldschool Mistakes are good provided you learn from them, and correct them promptly. Steven Fink mistake Too often, clients want us to give them a one-size-fits-all crisis management plan from off the shelf. Some of our competitors do this because it's fast and cheap. They build a plan once and keep using the same plan over and over with other clients. Steven Fink crisismanagementgiving Unfortunately, today's colleges and universities, and especially our business schools, do not offer pragmatic crisis management teachings. Steven Fink collegeteachingschool When I wrote my first book, Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable, it was endorsed by the American Management Association, and consequently was read by America's top corporate leaders, and overnight put me in high demand as a consultant and as a speaker. Also, that book forever changed the way businesses look at and deal with crises by giving a tangible feel to an otherwise intangible subject. Steven Fink leadergivingbook
