Crisis Leadership Blog
Insights and perspectives on being the lighthouse during a crisis.
Hot Potato: What To Do When You’re Targeted
We’re taking you way back in the wayback machine to when I was a little kid in Canada. It was 1991 when Winnipeg-based Old Dutch Foods entered the Ontario market hoping to gain ground but instead faced a salty standoff. Rival Hostess Frito-Lay was accused of buying...
How a Clear Chain of Command Creates Strategic Speed in a Crisis
If you’ve ever seen the classic Abbott and Costello sketch "Who’s on First?," you know how quickly things can unravel when no one knows who’s doing what. It’s hilarious on stage, but in a real life crisis, that kind of confusion is anything but funny. Think back to...
When “Natural” Turns Toxic: The Cost of Broken Brand Promises
You may have heard recently that Perrier’s fizz has gone flat overseas. Parent company Nestlé Waters is facing a major environmental scandal after investigative reports revealed years of illegal waste dumping at its bottling sites, including massive landfills filled...
Don’t Let Your Crisis Plans Remain Buried Like a Time Capsule
Many of us found ourselves abruptly working from home during the Covid pandemic. For some, a return to the office did not occur for months or even years. If you were one such person, you may recall the cognitive dissonance you experienced when you found it exactly as...
Stakeholders: Reach Them Where They Are
Let’s talk about precision. In a crisis, speed is critical ... but speed without clarity and accuracy is just noise. When you’ve taken the time to get to know your stakeholders, you understand where they get their information. Even if you just know the age range, you...
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
Espionage and Consequences: The HR Tech Meltdown
Demonstrating that no industry is immune to controversy – and highlighting the need for solid risk mitigation strategies – a shocking scandal has just rocked the HR tech sector. Rippling, a company specializing in workforce management, has taken legal action against its rival Deel, accusing it of corporate espionage. According to the lawsuit, Deel...
NDAs are Paper Moons
It's a paper moon: it only works if you believe in it How many of you have read the Meta tell-all, Careless People? This book has been on the New York Times best seller list since its release and is continuing to sell well. The book was authored by Facebook’s former director of global public policy, Sarah Wynn-Williams, and is a roundup of all bad doings...
Why Trade Associations Belong in Your Crisis Strategy
Five overlooked ways your industry group can shield, guide, and amplify your voice when it matters most An article in Fortune last week detailed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s deliberations on whether or not they would sue the Trump administration on behalf of its members to halt its global trade policies. In the same story, while the Chamber decided not...
I Speak Canadian (And What To Do If You Don’t)
I’m in the process of prepping a global crisis simulation for a multinational corporation. The other day, our brilliant client lead came to me and said “I can’t believe I’m bringing this up, but we need to add a Canada component. For the first time, we have to worry about the differences between the U.S. and Canada and how it affects our readiness. And you...
There’s No Waffling at Waffle House
As we approach the Easter and Passover "egg season," egg prices remain at an all-time high due to an ongoing shortage caused by the widespread avian flu. Businesses in the food and beverage industry that use a large volume of eggs – such as breakfast restaurants IHOP, Waffle House, and Denny’s – have been faced with a dilemma: keep their prices the same or...
Redundancy: Add Spare Capacity to Gain Speed in a Crisis
I’m fond of the old military saying: “two is one and one is none.” It reminds me to have a backup for critical equipment, like ensuring my spare tire is filled and ready to go before embarking on a cross-country road trip. It’s hard to run to an auto parts store if something goes wrong when I’m driving across Death Valley sans cell reception, for...
The Best Way to Handle Fear
There is no doubt about it … fear during a crisis is 100% real. Fear that you don’t have all the answers. Fear that you’ll show too much vulnerability to your team. Fear that your business won’t be able to recover from the issue at hand. Or fear that your efforts to right the ship may make the situation worse. If you’ve ever led a team through a crisis,...
When Controversy Snowballs into Crisis
The Washington Post has been shaking things up lately, especially in its opinion section. Owner Jeff Bezos just announced a shift to focus on "personal liberties and free markets," which led to the resignation of respected opinion editor David Shipley. This move, like many shakeups happening in our world these days, has caused controversy. Controversy...
(Un)Welcoming a One-Drink Minimum Policy
A few weeks ago, Starbucks announced that it would be ending its open-door policy, which allowed people to use the store's seating and restrooms even if they didn't make a purchase. The company stated that the change was made to "enhance" the customer experience. However, many critics have expressed that the move seems more focused on keeping out “the riff...
A Resolution Worth Sticking To: Crisis Vigilance in the New Year
With the holidays in the rearview mirror, many of us now turn to making personal resolutions for the new year. Whether it's training for a Tough Mudder, getting more sleep (hello, melatonin), saving more money for your dream retirement beach house, or remembering to call your elderly aunt at a more regular cadence, focusing on your intentions for the new...
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.