Crisis Leadership Blog
Insights and perspectives on being the lighthouse during a crisis.
When the Truth is Forced: Communicating when Caught off Guard
A number of companies have announced layoffs recently. One in particular had the news released because of a necessary regulatory filing. Marriott, the hotel giant based in Maryland, where it is the largest private-sector employer, is set to lay off hundreds of...
Owning the Disappointment when You Have to Say Hard Things
No one likes to say hard things, but it comes with the responsibility of being a manager, a leader or a communications director. Saying hard things inevitably disappoints people we care about, and we as humans feel badly when we disappoint people who matter to us. At...
Do it for the Algorithm: Embracing Social Media during a Crisis
“OMG, we’re blowing up on social media” I’ve been in a number of crisis management situations where the person responsible for a company’s social media will run into the room, look at their iPhone, utter those fateful words, and then disappear. As a crisis strategist,...
Very Scary Marketing Decisions
Have you ever seen a social media post or TV commercial from a well-known brand and said, “What the hell were they thinking?” Especially if it bordered on or crossed into being perceived as racist or prejudiced? That’s exactly what Bath and Body Works faced when they...
Be Prepared for What Comes after Election Night
It’s almost here. Based on retail stores, you might think “it” is Christmas, but “it” is not. No, “it” is Election Day. Most years, elections just kind of happen. People vote, wait for the results to be announced, celebrate or not, and then go on with their daily...
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
Winning An Argument with Crazy
Let’s be clear. You can’t win an argument against Crazy. Once rightfully relegated to the lunatic fringe, Crazy abounds today – it is everywhere. Crazy is encouraged, fanned, inflamed, and carried to new converts by the magnifying lens that is social media. Sadly, organizations that value their reputation must now pay attention to Crazy, because Crazy can...
Lessons from Litigators for the Court of Public Opinion
Hall of Fame basketball coach Bobby Knight once said, “The key is not the will to win – everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Preparation is one of the key differences between people who win consistently and those who win occasionally, accidentally, or not at all. This applies in sports, in business, and in court....
Daily Harvest Needs To Be a Lesson for All Startups
Have you stuck to your New Year’s resolutions? I didn’t make any this year. Instead, I built a plan that will build on small changes throughout the year. January has been a focus on slowing down. But even with my change of thought, it was pretty hard to ignore the barrage of ads about weight loss, healthy new year, new start etc. One that has caught my eye...
Kyte Baby: How It Could Have Been Avoided
There have been some really great dissections of the #KyteBaby crisis response. Jeremy Tunis and Eleanor Hawkins to name my favorites. But for all this great analysis, I want to dive a little deeper into how this could have been prevented. I see there are three points: It’s a commonly held analysis that the first statement by the Kyte Baby CEO was tone...
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...
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.