Crisis Leadership Blog

Like my Kith colleagues, I cut my proverbial teeth in politics. Not as a candidate, but as a campaign staffer and, later, a political consultant. Campaigns are great places to train for reputation management and crisis communications because everything is a crisis. The latest mud your opponent threw at you is a crisis.  A campaign stop going sideways is a...

Have you ever stood at the grocery store trying to decide which pasta to buy and thought about the CEO of one pasta company making a political statement? You remember you didn’t appreciate what she said, but you really prefer how that pasta cooks. Or maybe you agreed with her, but their pasta tastes like eating rubber bands.  That CEO’s political statement...

Have you ever wondered why some people are always worrying about the next step down the road and others just wait for the problem to happen before dealing with a big mess?  This was the source of a discussion I recently had with a friend who, like me, honed his skills in politics but has taken those skills to external affairs in the hallowed halls of...

I bet you remember doing fire drills as a kid in school. Your teachers were trying mightily to get 25 fourth graders (if you are Canadian, grade fours) to follow the predetermined route, in a “calm and orderly fashion.”  You would then proceed to your designated spot and goof off with your friends for 20 minutes before going back to your regularly...

This will more than likely be our last post for 2021. And what a year it has been. For those of you that follow along in this space, you know that in July, I had a pretty severe accident and spent a week in the ICU. Last week I had the final of 4 surgeries on my right foot rebuilding and repairing all 5 of my metatarsals. I lost my dad in January and had a...

Confucius tells us that "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." What is fear, and why do so many corporate leaders fear crises?  Fear is a concern, rational or not, about your well-being. In this context, it is a concern about the reputation of your organization. You may fear the unknown, the media, a misunderstanding, or anything...

There's an interesting article I read recently about the notion of how to master a craft, and I was thinking about it in the context of the way we manage crises. In the article, Julian Shapiro notes that becoming a craftsperson requires more focus on the process than the output: the process is rewarding enough. That contrasts with a mechanic, who's focused...

I love checklists.  I also love Thanksgiving.  What could be better than combining the two?     As you get ready for the holidays coming up, I want to remind you that checklists are critically important for the holiday season. They're also critically important when you find yourself in...