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5 Tips To Put A Crisis Behind You

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We all experience a crisis now and then. It can be large or small, personal or professional. You forget a loved one's birthday. You get caught up in an office scandal. Or you do something that’s just plain wrong.

As Oscar Pistorius, Tiger Woods, Elliott Spitzer and Lance Armstrong know well, there are times when a crisis is so overwhelming that it blots out the sun and impacts every aspect of your life. Communication experts have rules they follow to help their clients get past a rough spot. These rules apply to all of us, even in our personal interactions. Knowing what to do and how to do it from a communication perspective does not mean you can stave off a crisis, but it does give you a chance to deal with it quickly, minimize the damage and move on. Here are the five big rules.

Know the facts.  Nothing makes managing a crisis more difficult than not knowing the truth about an issue. The militant attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi last September, for example, continues to create angst in Washington because so much was unknown in the weeks following the incident. When you’re in a crisis or helping someone deal with one, it is absolutely critical that you know all of the facts and know them as quickly as possible. Only then can you devise a plan to address those facts with an effective communication strategy. If you’re the person impacted directly, you may think the facts are obvious, but when other parties are involved…spouses, companies, investors, etc…facts can be manipulated and misinterpreted. Separating fact from opinion and conjecture is essential.

Have an end game.  The only way to get past a crisis is to have the ending of the story well in hand. Letting the story dribble out is a media nightmare that sears the crisis in the minds of the public, extends the saga and destroys your credibility. In the case of British Petroleum during the Gulf oil spill, the biggest PR problem was the fact there seemed to be no solution in sight as oil was gushing into the sea. When an entity or person in crisis is able to say the problem is over or will be over by a specific date, the healing can start. Until then, it’s all hollow promises.

Tell the truth and tell it quickly.  You’ve seen me write, “Go ugly early.” When you know the facts, it means the facts are knowable, and in this world of 24-7 news disseminated by thousands of online media, the truth will eventually see the light of day. The best course of action is to let your audiences…all of them…have that unfettered truth as quickly as possible. Whether that comes in the form of a press conference, a tweet, a conversation or a TV interview, don’t hold back. Be forthcoming, tell the absolute truth, and do so in most sincere and contrite way possible. Be authentic. Don’t get accused of being sorry you got caught; let your audiences know you’re sorry for what happened. And that it won’t happen again. The reason Lance Armstrong received mixed reviews for his Oprah interview is because many doubted his level of remorse and authenticity.

Change processes so the crisis doesn’t repeat.  If you have a crisis in your life, you’ll want to make certain it doesn’t get repeated. The best approach is to critically and honestly analyze everything that occurred so that you can implement concrete steps to stop it from recurring. If a company accidentally discloses detailed customer records, for example, it had better know what caused the problem and create new procedures to ensure that problem is fixed forever. Being able to tell your audiences what you’ve done to keep it from happening again is a key ingredient in having an end game. It’s not over if the world thinks oil could gush at any moment from another well in the Gulf.

Count on Redemption.  The media loves nothing more than building up a person or institution and then finding a legitimate reason to tear them down. Setting yourself up as a paragon of virtue, a la Governor Spitzer or Lance Armstrong, will most definitely be used against you when the wheels fall off the train.  But Americans like redemption. They like a comeback, and when a person or entity shows humility and honesty, they will very often have a chance to recover. The height of recovery will depend on the gravity of the crisis, of course. Murderers have a difficult time winning over the public. But someone who robs a bank yet fully admits the indiscretion, returns the money, is a model citizen in jail and works to help others avoid a life of crime has a chance to redeem himself. A crisis does not have to be a life-long sentence. Even U.S. Presidents who have fallen from grace in office have retired to become revered public figures. And it’s not an anomaly that ex-Governor Spitzer recently had his own television show. There can be a way back.

Susan Tardanico is CEO of the Authentic Leadership Alliance and former senior corporate executive.  Follow her on Twitter@susantardanico.