Managing the Ripples in a Crisis by MWPR, Inc.

Just like when a pebble thrown in a pond creates ripples, within any major crisis there is a ripple affect. There is more than one area of focus and more than one area needing a #strategic plan to address the impact the major #crisis created.

Regardless if the main headline is involving a person, political figure, product, property or performance, more times than not, there are layers to the crisis and they are guaranteed to impact a multitude of areas, associations and affiliations. The ripple affects will also need to be addressed. 

Ok, the crisis hits! The primary target has responded and is managing their story in an effort to lessen the blow and restore trust. 

But, what about the ripples, those who are directly or indirectly impacted by the primary's crisis? Directly or indirectly, each ripple created by the primary (pebble) requires special attention, strategic action, specific answers and subsequent adjustments so they are able to eventual move pass the crisis and prepare for future progress and productivity.

Special Attention:

When the crisis creates the ripples, pay close attention to the initial reports, details and responses given through the media and through the primary target. Listening and learning what has happened and what is being said will help in creating a specific strategic plan directly speaks to your need and position.

Strategic Action:

Based on what has been learned through paying special attention and determining if the primary hit directly or indirectly impacted you, a plan of action must be created that will help draw a distinction between the primary hit and you, the ripple, while also restoring confidence within your immediate and extended touch points (constituents and audiences).

Specific Answers:

Here is where you unpack your story, clear up confusion related to your connection to the primary hit and provide space for questions to be asked and answered, portraying a level of transparency and trust.

Subsequent Adjustments:

Within the management of the ripple affect from another's crisis, due diligence is needed in determining what can be learned by what the primary hit went through. Also, an assessment for areas of weakness, vulnerability, flaws and blind spots that could one day take you from being the ripple to being the primary is needed. 

The best way to prepare for any crisis is to be prepared before the crisis. You don't have to always learn a lesson firsthand. Take the lesson another's mistake creates and adjust accordingly. Go through scenarios identifying possible crises that could occur, or pay attention to your competition, partners, industry leaders, etc. and learn from their past problems. Remember, there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter template crisis plan. So, once you've gathered your research, create an overall crisis plan that speaks to your needs and feel somewhat confident that if/when the time comes you will be ready to stop, drop and roll with the punch.

The bottom-line is no major crisis is a one off. It will create ripples. Having a direct or indirect association with the primary hit calls for you to take the necessary steps to correct and protect your brand, message or business.

#MWPRTips

The Cycle Can Stop: For the sake of future athletes (@NFL and beyond)

This recent arrest of another @NFL Player TE Fred Davis Arrested and Charged with DWI causes me to deeply inhale with continued sadness and concern. As I viewed the discussion on @CNN and assume was reported on most national news networks this morning, the NFL has a continued brand problem that they don't seem to be able to tackle (pun intended).

In a tweet exchange with @AndyScholesCNN about what the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell could do to manage 360 players, my response was in a nutshell - tighten up the point of entry with stricter expectations upfront. It's not about "babysitting 360 players" as Scholes put it, rather it's about owning the full responsibility of 360 degree management of the players with more intentionality (on and off season). It's also about placing more energy around the players' reps and their off-the-field team. Now, I am definitely not saying that reps, agents, extended off-the-field team should "babysit" players. I am also not saying that they aren't taking their jobs seriously. However, we can all agree that something is broken. There is a pattern forming and strengthening. Something needs to change, in my opinion, it's at point of entry, to ensure expectations are set. What better time then #NFLCombine weekend?

In the past, I have blogged in response to the latest news of what's happened to an athlete. Instead of trying to create new words to address this old problem, I close out this blog with words from the past.

(Originally posted 10-05-10 about Panthers cutting WR Dwayne Jarrett after second drunken driving arrest.)

As I have stated in previous posts, although an athlete has talent and money, they still do not possess maturity, common sense or life experience. Their life since Pop Warner has been sports...period. And, their life after being drafted is sports. They have not had a chance to live, grow, make mistakes, process....all the basic things teenagers and young adults are able to do in the world. So, when they enter the ADULT world of sports, the expectation that is placed on them is unfair.
When their parents hand them over to their sports agents there should be an understanding that the sports agents don't just help brocker the best financial deal for them with the best team. The sports agent must now take on the responsibility of mentoring, monitoring and managing the off-the-field behavior of the athlete. 

Sports agents need to mentor their clients; guide them through all things that come with taking on this adult responsibility called "Pro Athlete". Sports agents need to monitor their clients; make sure they are acting responsible and being a good steward over all they have. And, sports agents need to manage their clients. Now, the latter is done to a degree, but not completely. In managing your client you are bringing in the RIGHT people to help ensure the client's brand is not just secured, but enhanced and ever evolving. All of this helps the sports agent at the negotiating table walk away with more money. 

But, what happens more than not is they see the athletes as a check...period. There is no concern or little concern of the athlete's well-being...no proactive action taken to ensure that, if nothing else, their check is safe and a constant, by putting in place the right elements to guarantee success.

So, today, I would like to ask the question, when will a portion of the blame for the missteps of these young athletes begin to be placed on the sports agents? When will they be held responsible for some of the drama that seems to be getting worse within professional athletes' off-the-field/court actions?

Research Before Responding

In light of the recent #PaulaDeen brand management fiasco, I thought I would offer some general steps in managing a crisis. I have shared similar steps in the past, however it seems that it continues to be a right on time point to make.

The first priority when faced with a crisis for any business, brand, or person should be obvious - execute the Crisis Plan. IF by chance there isn't one in place prior to the crisis, one should/can be crafted, taking the tactics and best practices used during the crisis you find yourself in as a guide. On any given day, your priorities will be determined by the phase/level the crisis is in. Remain flexible but stay strategic, not defensive.

Best strategies and practices are found in consistent, calm, clear and concise communications. Always stay on point, keep to the agreed plan and make sure each phase has sign-off by all key stakeholders including legal counsel. The reality is there is no cookie-cutter approach to handling a crisis, as each one possesses its own set of unique components. However, there are some staples that can be inserted to ensure the crisis is managed as well as any #crisis can be managed:

• Research before responding to the crisis. 
• Do not allow the crisis to manage you, you must aim to manage it from the start. 
• Just because the media calls, it doesn’t mean you have to take the call. Only respond when you have a clear message to deliver.
• Identify the appropriate spokesperson (s). 
• Acknowledge all, but only own what is yours to own. 
• Pull in partners and supporters if appropriate. 
• Only make realistic promises. 
• Don’t place yourself in a position where you will have to eat your words; this can create a new crisis. Keep messages/responses clear, concise and consistent. 
• Never sound or position your statement from a defensive stance. 
• Utilize more than one means of distributing your responses. 
• Create a strategy in getting your message out, how, where and in the frequency you desire. 
• Strive to control the crisis. 

Monica G. Wood (@MWPRINCight)

Lead Strategist

MWPR, Inc.

Featured Author: PR News' Crisis Management Guidebook, Vol 6 (@PRNews)

Lessons Learned

I haven't blogged in awhile. Mostly because I found myself sounding like a broken record 

concerning my response to the media coverage on athletes and others who keep  having   "hiccups" in their lives. 

But, I felt led to post today after I read a tweet from @JawnMurray. He tweeted, "U don't have to go thru what somebody else experienced to learn for yourself. Let others' mistakes teach U lessons! #IndustryTalk". In the past, I too have said something similar to this to crisis clients as well as to young people I speak to. You don't have to "have" all experiences in order to receive a lesson. I shared with a young girl one time, "I fell on the sword for you. Don't make the same mistake. Learn from mine and instead make new mistakes."  

If we all got this, including myself, I strongly believe there would not be as much sensational news on the personal/private lives of individuals. And, our youth and young adults would not fall victim to repeating our actions, as if its normal behavior.  I know I'm not saying anything new or profound. But, I believe if this point is made with as much frequency as the noise screamed by the negative, the mistakes, and the damaged it will overpower it.  

Our Student Athletes STILL Don't Get It!

The Playbook: Mentoring Initiative Commentary on UConn Athlete Jamal Coombs-McDaniel Arrest

Here was go AGAIN! Really?! Come on young people, especially those who obviously are participating and enjoying an active, productive and potentially prosperous future playing sports. I totally understand you wanting to have "normal" experiences with your friends. But, you need to be reminded that you are not normal, if your talents and skills have afforded you praise, popularity and public attention, you are not normal.

You cannot have it both ways. Which is more important to you?

And, as I always ask, where are the parents, coaches, and even the real "friends"? Who has these promising student athletes' backs?

In this day and age, with technology being what it is, if he hadn't been caught and arrested, someone could have easily been recording the "fun" experience either innocently or maliciously and you know where that could have led....posting on YouTube, local TV, a blog, etc.

I am pleading with student athletes to really take stock in where they are in life. Identify what is most important. Have a REAL "come to Jesus" on what they are currently doing that needs to stop or continue. And, determine what they might need to start doing differently. This process can begin with asking themselves the following starter questions:

1. Why do I play sports....enjoyment, natural ability, future fortune, parent push?
2. What role or impact will playing sports have in my future career and life goals and plans?
3. What do I need to do in order to ensure I continue to positively impact my right now and my tomorrow - if I want a career in sports?
4. Do I have people on my personal team that support and compliment or distract and compromise?
5. What's does MY playbook look like and what do I need to do to effectively execute it?

These are just starter questions. However, they will help get folks in the mind-set of really taking a moment to stop, stare, sift and strategize. Stop the ride and routine you've been on forever. Stare at your backstory on through to your present reality. Sift through what worked, what failed and why it succeeded or it didn't. Strategize what your future will look like based on your due diligence.

Until similar steps are taken I believe our student athletes will continue to make this unfortunate mistake.

The actual Huffington Post piece:

HARTFORD, Conn. – Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, a swingman on Connecticut's national championship basketball team, has been arrested on a marijuana possession charge.

Campus police say the sophomore from Dorchester, Mass. was arrested Thursday night along with two people at Merritt Hall, a campus dormitory.

"During the course of the investigation, officers found Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and two other individuals in possession of 5.6 grams of marijuana, a marijuana grinder and a package of cigars used to smoke marijuana," according to the police report.

Coombs-McDaniel was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on a $500 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on May 5.

He was one of 11 people arrested during the first night of Spring Weekend, an annual weekend of campus parties before final exams.

Coombs-McDaniel played in all 41 of UConn's games during its national championship season, and started twice. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.7 rebounds.

He is a favorite with the UConn student section, which breaks into a chorus of "Cooombs" when he scores.

"We are aware of the arrest of Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, but beyond that have no further comment at this time," said Kyle Muncy, a spokesman for the basketball program.

It was not immediately clear if Coombs-McDaniel had an attorney, and he did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

When there is a hiccup in your life: Crisis 101

WHEN THERE IS A HICCUP IN YOUR LIFE: Personal Crisis 101

A hiccup (crisis) can come at any time, from anywhere and in any form. The goal when faced with a crisis is to minimize the overall damage. The best way to manage the situation, if it should ever arise, is to not hold your breath until it goes away, but rather:

REFLECT
Reflect, don’t react on what happened. Reflect on the role you played in it. Reflect on how others have reacted to both the situation and to you. Reflect on how you feel. Reflect on how/when/what your response should be.

Honesty, self-reflection push you forward. Lies, misplaced blame and denial push you back.

REMOVE
Remove negative thinking. Remove negative/dysfunctional people. Remove yourself from any and all things that could possibly cause you to repeat your mistake or a similar one in the future.

REPLACE
Replace your negative energy, space and inner circle with all things positive, productive and progressive. Don't dwell on the mistake. Take the lesson, walk over the mistake and move forward.

RENEW
Renew your mind by speaking life into your situation. Positive thoughts, lead to positive words which lead to positive actions. Don't define who you are by just the mistakes you made/make or what others will say about you. You are the total sum of all things reflecting you.

Bottom line: Understand what happened. Embrace what happened. Promote your learned lessons. And, remember that "...in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

We all have a purpose in life to fulfill. The good, bad and UGLY are part of fulfilling that purpose.

It is time to live more proactively in this reactive world. Walk out your destiny.