Hits and Misses

Why does it seem that everybody’s an expert today in handling a crisis? There was time I felt like I was part of a special club. When I experienced my first corporate crisis 25 years ago, I learned from experts how to handle it effectively, and later applied those lessons to clients of my own public relations agency. At the time, it seemed to shock journalists and others that we were open and honest.

Today, in the age of instant analysis, with PR pros, image consultants and others give us their take on Tiger and Toyota, it appears like everyone knows what they should do. Athletes are a good example. No matter what an athlete does, all they have to do is apologize, admit their mistakes and go through some type of rehab. All better. I heard it called an “athletic mulligan.”

Perhaps the it’s just one more example where the daily barrage of media and Internet news is pulling back the curtain to reveal what was once the professional domain of just a few. But what about Toyota? How could a corporate giant hesitate and stub its toe so badly? Could it be that they didn’t take the Tylenol 101 class?

Or perhaps crisis communications is being oversimplified. Maybe each crisis is really different, has its own subtleties, and has its own opportunities and risks. Maybe that’s why some companies and some PR agencies still screw it up. There are some basic principles to crisis response, but if you haven’t actually been involved in the minute-by-minute decisions and communications that are involved, you can slip up.

Maybe it’s not so easy.