The document discusses crisis communication and management, highlighting best practices from organizations like the Air Force and Mayor Giuliani's response to 9/11. It emphasizes that a crisis management plan is only effective if it includes clear communication strategies and addresses stakeholder needs. High-reliability organizations are also examined, with their focus on constant training, transparency, and organizational learning providing a model for crisis preparedness.

1. Lost Missiles, Lost Messages
Understanding crisis management
and crisis communication
A supplement to a presentation on crisis communication
http://bit.ly/AD9xya

2. What is a Crisis?
• “The perception of an unpredictable event that
threatens important expectancies of stakeholders
and can seriously impact an organization’s
performance and generate negative outcomes.”
–Timothy Coombs
– Unpredictable
– Threatens expectancies
– Impacts performance
– Perception

3. Crisis Management
• Very similar to emergency preparedness
• Goal is to prevent or lessen negative impact of crisis
• Four interrelated factors:
– Prevention
• Mitigate risk of crisis
– Preparation
• Crisis Management Plan
• Identifying and preparing for vulnerabilities
– Response
• Application of preparation components
– Revision (if you survive…)
• Evaluating and improving response
• Crucial to preserving an organization’s reputation
• Many organizations overlook importance of crisis
management

4. The All-Encompassing Crisis Mgmt Plan
• 2009 study of coal industry by Miller and Horsley
– Showed coal industry had extensive CMPs, but
stakeholders still perceived great levels of crisis
• CMPs did not include emphasis on communication
– Dearth of communicators in crisis leadership
– No understanding of stakeholder needs
• CMPs included engrained hostility toward media
– Mandated restrictions of media access
– Non-communicators assigned as media liaisons
– Expectation gaps
• Your level of crisis preparedness and executions is irrelevant if
your stakeholders are unaware
• Remember that perception is part of the definition of a crisis

5. Communicating in a Crisis
• Normal rules don’t apply during a crisis
– Shortened response times
– Impact on all organizational functions
– Greater emphasis on accuracy, transparency and
consistency in messages
• Common crisis communication goals
– Prevent or minimize damage
– Maintain operations
– Protect organizational reputation

6. Crisis of the Ages
• Communicating through 9/11
– Mayor Rudy Giuliani held regular press briefings
throughout the day
• Put out information as soon as he had it
– Information on where to go for treatment
– Information on how to stay out of the way of the crisis
response teams
• Some information was incorrect, but information got
out quickly in spirit of transparency
• Regular meetings allowed him to correct information in
a timely manner
• Maximum disclosure, minimum delay

7. High-Reliability Organizations
• My case study focused on Air Force response through
the HRO lens
– This presentation doesn’t go into that depth, but concept
is relevant to IEM missions
• HROs are organizations with missions in which failure
could lead to potential catastrophe
– Concept has been applied to numerous operations in
research
• Airport security
• Naval flight operations
• Coal mining
• Nuclear operations
– Increased importance for crisis preparedness

8. High-Reliability Organizations
• HROs share many of these common traits:
– Practice mindfulness
• Preoccupation with potential for failure
• Deference to expertise
– Centralized command with decentralized decision-
making authority
– Team members share common understanding of goals
– Constant operational training
– Regular assessment of plans and execution
– Redundant operations and safety checks
– Highly scrutinized by stakeholders and regulators
– Show evidence of organizational learning

9. Air Force Doctrine Document 2-5.3
• Governs Air Force Public Affairs
– “Maximum disclosure of timely and accurate
information as rapidly as possible”
• National Incident Management System
– Does not mention crisis communication
– Says PA ops should be incorporated in operations
– Emphasizes trust with stakeholders
• Support operations
• Aid in recruitment
– Must be a balance between security and transparency
• Cannot release sensitive operational information
• Cannot withhold information simply because it is
unflattering

10. Military Public Affairs
• Military public affairs officers are considered
special staff
– Have direct ear of commander
– Are often several steps lower in rank
• For first time in 11 years, current Air Force chief of
public affairs is a general officer
– Rank gap allows commanders to ignore public
affairs guidance in many situations
– Other military policies can trump public affairs
policy (we’ll see this happen)

11. Crisis Communication?
• Considering this information, did the incidents of
August/September 2007 constitute a crisis for the
Air Force?
– Unpredictable event
• Redundant safety measures should have prevented this
– Negative impact on operations
• Nuclear operations immediately halted
• Nuclear surety certifications revoked
– Perceived negatively by stakeholders
• Editorials in local and national press
• Negative comments in congressional hearings
• Department of Defense lost of confidence in AF leadership