Crisis Leadership Blog
Insights and perspectives on being the lighthouse during a crisis.
Scaling Your CEO for Better Crisis Response
At Kith, we have seen CEOs rise during a crisis and we have seen others stumble. The difference often comes down to what they focus on during the crisis at hand. As your most senior leader, a CEO can be one of the most important assets your organization can deploy...
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...
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
Kith Launches Litigation Communications Practice
KITH LAUNCHES LITIGATION COMMUNICATIONS PRACTICE Crisis Management Advisory Formalizes Legal Conflict Expertise Austin, TX– Kith, among the fastest-growing crisis management advisory firms in the country, has launched a new legal conflict communications practice to provide strategic reputation counsel to law firms and their clients and support complex or...
The Cost of Inaction
I have danced ballet most of my life. It’s the one thing I keep coming back to but I now live somewhere where there are not many options for ballet. Barre is o.k. Pilates is great. I was once kicked out of a yoga class for tapping my fingers. Nothing is ballet. So besides naturally standing in first position, I have slacked off. I haven’t actively been...
Think Twice, Speak Once
My grandfather built his own house on a farm in Saskatchewan. The house is now 75 years old and is home to a new family. I am tremendously fortunate to have had him share this skill with me. I built a bookshelf, can hang doors, and build decks. As with most carpenters, the cardinal rule was to measure twice and cut once. There are a number of recent...
Control What You Can Control, Including Your Anger
Justin Wilcox is used to winning and losing. For the head football coach of the University of California Golden Bears, wins and losses usually come on the football field, but his latest loss was handed to him by a bunch of college presidents and network executives far, far away from his practice field. “There's no denying the significance of this," Wilcox...
The Cost of Cri$i$
“What does a crisis cost?” I’ve been asked that question a few times. Disappointingly, my answer invariably is, “It depends.” Part of the answer depends on the specific aspects of the crisis and the company going through it, but much more rests on the definition of “cost.” If we’re talking about financial cost, then all we need to do is add together lost...
Trust as a KPI
Fortune magazine has recently launched a newsletter focused entirely on trust. They are framing it as “trust is the new KPI”. Just in case you’ve been living under a corporate rock, KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. The Trust Factor is a “weekly guide to earning, retaining, and strengthening trust with your employees, business partners, and...
Don’t Become the Woking Dead
Bud Light. Disney. Mars Wrigley. Dilbert. The Super Mario Bros movie. Victoria’s Secret. Utah’s proposed new state flag. BlackRock. The U.S. military. Legos. Jack Daniels. Even Chick-fil-A. Accusations of “wokeness” have been flung far and wide so far in 2023. Is your company next? Are you ready? Defining “woke” is about as easy as folding soup. Its...
There Is Going To Be Another Bud Light. Are You Next?
It’s not often that a brand can anger all sides of the political spectrum and take a financial hit but Bud Light managed to do that last week. And there has been a tremendous amount of analysis of the roots of the controversy as well as the response. Some have called it a failure of marketing. Others have called the situation a failure of leadership both...
Three Lessons from FTX’s Collapse for Crisis Leaders
The dust from the wreckage of FTX’s collapse doesn’t have time to settle before it’s stirred up again. The latest revelation – that one of the world’s most “admired” cryptocurrency exchanges was comically terrible at both IT security (the “crypto” part) and tracking funds (the “currency” part) – should keep the dust billowing for a while. While there are...
Crisis Efficiency
Many organizations seek efficiencies during times of economic uncertainty. For many executives, “efficiency” equates to reducing costs. Two of the most tried and true methods of reducing costs are eliminating headcount and cutting back on support services that do not generate revenue. Frequently, chasing these kinds of efficiencies means that you are also...
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.