Crisis Leadership Blog
Insights and perspectives on being the lighthouse during a crisis.
How to Dig Out of a Mess of Your Own Creation
The headlines were unsettling, not shocking at first. But when UnitedHealth, the healthcare behemoth responsible for processing 50 percent of all US patient medical claims annually, revealed it was the victim of a ransomware attack described as “the most serious...
When a Publicity Stunt Backfires
There are times (April Fool’s Day, I’m looking at you) when a company decides to pull a publicity stunt to see how big a splash they can make. They engage in intentional misrepresentation – of their business’ product, service, or brand – pushed out as a cheeky,...
Are You Warm Blooded or Cold Blooded?
At Kith, we often say that a crisis does not develop your leadership skills – it reveals them. It also reveals what type of creature you are: warm blooded or cold blooded. Now, obviously, humans are warm blooded as a matter of biology, so what we’re really asking you...
The Three Behaviors that Feed a Crisis: Ostrich Effect
Do you think you know what causes a reputational crisis? At least have a good guess? I’m here to tell you that it’s likely not what you think. It's a lack of preparation. There is that pithy statement that you see on notepads, signs on desks, and as gifs – lack of...
Don’t Stumble over Something behind You
These words are frequently attributed to the Ancient Roman stoic Seneca the Younger. They still ring true 2,000 years later. When it comes to managing a crisis, they are both a warning and a reason for leadership to move forward. Speed is the single most important...
By definition, Kith means a cadre of peers who shape opinions and attitudes while instilling sophisticated habits for action. As a way to live this value, we like to share resources that are building blocks to good crisis management and can help you start the path of protecting your reputation.
More Recent Insights
Why I Joined Kith
We were delighted to welcome Stephanie Craig on board to be our VP of Consulting this August. This is the first of a series of posts in which Stephanie reflects on her first 60 days, shares her thoughts on crises, and, in this case, explains why she left her own successful practice to join Kith. Anyone who has started their own company knows that there are...
Why crisis leadership isn’t the same as crisis management (It’s way more)
A big mistake we see everywhere is thinking that experience in a role or time-served automatically makes you a leader in that space. This thinking mistakes the fundamental difference between management and leadership: one is focused on what needs to be done, whereas the other is more concerned with the why. How versus Why In a crisis context, this is...
Meet Your Maker(s): How Communicators Can Work With Operations
Critical Takeaways The two fundamental roles in American corporations are makers - such as operations - and sellers - like communications. It's essential to maintain a direct linkage between the two as they work better together. When working with operations, communicators usually fall short in three areas: meeting the operations team too late, going into...
Who matters most in a crisis?
Main article Critical Takeaways: In Corporate Communications and Public Relations, the word stakeholders is a fancy way to define those that matter most to an organization. We at Kith put these people into three categories: Communities, Customers, and Critics At a fundamental level, what separates inferior corporate communications from superior corporate...
How to maximize the learning benefits of your simulation
Critical Takeaways: Conducting training or an exercise without learning from the experience is a waste of resources, time, and attention. You need a process to capture these learnings and to put these into an action plan. Start with an immediate 'hot' debrief with participants. We find asking them to answer 'I like, I wish, I wonder' gets quick, honest...
The seeds of a successful simulation are sown early
Critical Takeaways A great simulation depends on thorough preparation, and that includes preparing the participants and yourself. Start by taking care of the basic administration. Otherwise, you'll get off to a bad start before the exercise even begins. Use your SMART Objectives to determine the right kind and level of preparation and remind everyone that...
Getting to yes: persuading your executives to buy-into a simulation
Getting to yes: persuading your executives to buy-into a simulation Critical takeaways Simulations and training are excellent ways to prepare your organization for a crisis but their benefit might not be evident to your leadership. We've found that a needs-driven approach, based on a gap analysis, with a clear explanation of the budget, time, team, and...
Get SMART about your crisis training
Get SMART about your crisis training Critical takeaways Training without a clear objective often wastes time, resources and money. Instead, have a clear sense of the gaps that you face in your crisis readiness program and where you need to see change. Then use SMART objectives to help clearly define your desired outcomes to ensure that your training or...
Not All Gaps Are Created Equal: Process Gaps Versus Cultural Shortfalls
One of the real benefits we see with crisis simulations is that these work very well as gap analyses. After a simulation, it's easy to see the gap between your current state and your desired state. How well can you develop a plan and put that into action? How well do our processes hold up? What deficiencies are there in our teams Which areas are aligned...
Brevity Takes Time but Builds Speed
Speed is critical to success in a crisis but speed alone isn’t the answer – you need speed that’s based on an understanding of your core values and chain of command. Speed for the sake of speed leads to mistakes, inaccuracies, and rambling responses that get you into deeper trouble, not help pull you out. Instead, take some time to be clear, accurate, and brief. It requires additional time but helps you speed up in the end.
The Kith Method
Good crisis management comes from a plan. Great crisis management comes from capability – and starts before you even smell smoke. That’s why we developed the Kith Method. We can help build and maintain a flexible capability that works for you.
Your reputation is an investment; time-consuming and costly to build and expensive to repair. Protect it.