How can strategic thinking help you manage your reputation and crisis communication?

A strong state of situational awareness and self awareness is critical to reputation management. Often times, organizations will not objectively evaluate their reputation with key-stakeholder groups. This can have disastrous consequences on their reputation, and in worst case scenarios, prevent them from managing a crisis to success. A recent example: a global brand in the adult-beverage space that completely misunderstood their customer base, relied on their reputation to no avail and ended up with a significant crisis. A highly-objective SWOT can help with situational and reputational awareness.

A avaliação da reputação no pensamento estratégico fornece uma base sólida para o gerenciamento eficaz da comunicação e crises. Identificar pontos fortes e fracos, oportunidades e ameaças permite priorizar ações, definir metas e minimizar riscos, fortalecendo assim a posição da organização no cenário competitivo.

I disagree with assessing current state reputation, that keeps you in a the cycle of non-strategic thinking, which is reactive reputation management. Instead, if you want to adopt a strategic outlook, you need to start with the end in mind. Ask yourself, "In 10 years, how do we want to be seen by our customers, employees, partners, media, and competitors?"

The notion our fellow contributor brought up regarding "starting with the end in mind" is indeed a hallmark of strategic thinking. However, I'd like to propose a balanced approach that merges both proactive and reactive elements. Initiating with a futuristic vision is commendable, but grounding it in a thorough assessment of the present provides a reality check. Strategic foresight coupled with an acute awareness of the current landscape ensures a comprehensive understanding of potential gaps and opportunities. The book "Good Strategy Bad Strategy" by Richard Rumelt emphasizes the importance of diagnosing the current situation before formulating a strategy. This aligns with the emphasis on steering away from reactive reputation management.

Conducting a thorough reputation assessment involves analyzing stakeholders' perceptions. For instance, in the real estate sector, I worked on a project where client surveys revealed concerns about project delays. Identifying such issues early on allowed for targeted reputation management strategies.

Antecipar potenciais crises no pensamento estratégico envolve uma análise abrangente do ambiente externo e interno, identificando fontes, gatilhos, probabilidade e impacto. Ferramentas como planejamento de cenários, análise de riscos e planos de contingência são fundamentais para desenvolver estratégias proativas, mitigando riscos e fortalecendo a resiliência organizacional diante de situações adversas.

Having developed a few 2030 strategies with some amazing "tiger teams", I LOVE scenario planning! This is a top strategic method to anticipate and create mitigating strategies that help you stay on track. Scenario planning only works when you diverge and converge, which can take quite some time to sift through which scenarios sit on the scale of most likely vs unlikely. Also, it's important for you to consider various secondments into the core team to ensure you have the breadth of expertise that can give you valuable insights both externally and internally. Most of all, it is a time to cultivate deep patience and keep your eyes-on-the-prize!

In SaaS, anticipating potential crises involves assessing cybersecurity risks. I advised a tech startup to proactively address data security concerns, implementing robust measures. This foresight prevented a potential crisis, showcasing the importance of strategic thinking in crisis preparedness.

One key exercise is to identify potential risks on reputation to the company reputation and do scoring with the key leadership/ functional experts to based on the impact and probability of occurrence. Then for the ones that have high scores ( highest risks) one must do a FMEA ( Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) so actions can be identified to mitigate the risks. Then a few high scoring reputation risks should be scenario planned to see if such reputation crisis do occur how the organization can react to minimize its impacts and recover. First aspect here is most critical as to preventing repetitional crisis and the second aspect of ‘managing a crisis’ effectively is relevant if you cannot prevent it occurring.

In my experience it doesn't matter how much scenario planning you do there will always be a crisis that you didn't plan for, either because you didn't anticipate it, or because you believed it would never happen. The COVID-19 pandemic is an obvious example. Whilst companies may have scenario tested what would happen if a major flu pandemic hit, the likelihood of all companies that were impacted having tested a global scale shutdown is very small. This means that strategic thinking needs to be expanded beyond the obvious. Scanning the external and internal environment is the beginning, thinking like a futurist to anticipate wider crises will enable a company to plan much further ahead than their competitors.

Comunicar de forma eficaz durante crises requer empatia, transparência e prontidão. Reconhecer a situação, oferecer informações precisas, assumir responsabilidade, pedir desculpas quando necessário e envolver-se ativamente com as partes interessadas são práticas cruciais. Utilizar diversos canais e formatos de comunicação, como mídias sociais, e-mails e podcasts, amplifica a mensagem, contribuindo para uma gestão mais efetiva da crise e preservação da reputação.

I'd like to add that the concept of "strategic listening" plays a crucial role in effective communication during crises. Actively understanding stakeholders' concerns, sentiments, and expectations enables a more tailored and empathetic response. This aligns with the book "Crucial Conversations" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler, which delves into effective communication strategies during high-stakes situations.

In a telecom project, swift communication during network outages was critical. Developing predefined crisis communication templates facilitated rapid response, minimizing customer dissatisfaction. Proactive and transparent communication is key in crisis situations across diverse industries.

During a crisis, the communication effectiveness and efficiency comes to the fore. The organization should have a clear strategy and action plan for both external and internal communications. There should be a structured approach with relevant rules of engagement. The communications must be reviewed and approved by a key senior team to ensure all interests of the organization is taken care of. Internally core teams must be formed to manage the crisis with clear and frequent communication on the issue , how the company addresses its and its positive and negative impacts on the organization. Senior leadership headed by the CEO must lead from the front in the case of a reputation crisis with this clear communication plan.

Uma comunicação eficiente no mercado corporativo destaca-se por ser clara, concisa, assertiva e adaptada ao público-alvo. A escuta ativa, feedback construtivo, transparência, consistência e o uso adequado dos canais de comunicação são fundamentais para estabelecer relações saudáveis e alcançar os objetivos empresariais.

Once the reputation crisis management is taken care of as the first priority, a detailed analysis ( 5Ys/ fish bone etc ) as what really caused such a crisis and what could have been done to prevent must be investigated. The aim is to ensure that the organization not falling to that situation again. The reasons for the crisis must be clearly found and the weakness in the relevant areas of the company should be fixed. This is will be a tall task as the organization can get tired of managing the crisis and teams can feel burnt out. Therefore, innovative, motivational aspects should be considered whilst addressing any structural issues fast- ex leadership issues / systems issues in the organization that lead to the crisis.

In pharmaceuticals, where regulatory compliance is paramount, periodic evaluations of adherence to standards are crucial. For instance, after a compliance issue, implementing corrective actions and communicating the improvements positively influenced the company's reputation in subsequent regulatory assessments.

Strategic thinking in reputation management and crisis communication involves five key elements: Proactively anticipating risks to minimize surprises and negative impacts; understanding the perspectives of various stakeholders for targeted messaging; developing clear and coherent communication plans for crisis scenarios; controlling the narrative through influential channels to reduce misinformation; and continuously analyzing and adjusting strategies in real time to respond effectively to evolving situations. This approach ensures a resilient and agile response to protect and enhance an organization's reputation during crises.

RACI RACI RACI. Did I mention develop a RACI? Communication plans are often developed and left on the shelf... sadly! First let's make it clear - Communication is not a plan on a shelf! It's alive and foundational in proactive reputation management. Reactive is easy. Everyone is on the bus when there is a huge crisis to manage. We are all great at putting out the fires, when reputation is on the line. What we aren't so great at is being proactive. My coaching tip here is to develop your communication strategy that includes enabling activities to support the implementation plan. These enabling activities aren't nice-to-haves. They are must-haves, so you'll need to work hard to get them approved, and endorsed.

I recommend exploring "The Art of Strategy" by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff, which provides a broader perspective on strategic decision-making and aligning plans with organizational goals.

Working with a tourism client, I crafted a comprehensive crisis communication plan that included protocols for natural disasters and health crises. This structured approach ensured a timely and consistent response during unforeseen events, safeguarding the company's reputation.

Its really important to develop a crisis management plan and do trainings for your entire leadership team and anyone who is client facing.I would also encourage press training as well. You need to be able to control the narrative as much as possible, but you have to make sure that everyone understands the process.

In B2C retail, fostering a culture of transparency was pivotal. Training staff to handle customer complaints empathetically and empowering them to communicate openly contributed to a positive reputation. This cultural aspect played a vital role in crisis resolution and customer retention.

Building a culture around reputation and crisis communication is a collective responsibility. Whether in the pharmacy or digital health realm, fostering an environment that values transparent communication and learning from mistakes has been pivotal. It's about creating a shared sense of responsibility for the reputation we collectively uphold.

Strategic thinking is the ability to plan and act with a long-term vision and a clear purpose. It can help you manage your reputation and crisis communication by helping you to: 👉🏻Cultivate a reputation and crisis communication culture that values honesty, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. 👉🏻Anticipate and prepare for potential risks and opportunities that may affect your reputation and communication. 👉🏻Align your reputation and communication goals with your mission, vision, and values. 👉🏻Communicate effectively and consistently with your stakeholders, such as customers, employees, partners, media, and regulators. 👉🏻Monitor and evaluate your reputation and communication performance and impact.

I'd highlight the importance of leveraging technological advancements. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics can be pivotal in predicting potential crises more accurately and fine-tuning communication strategies based on real-time feedback. Additionally, exploring unconventional communication channels, such as interactive webinars or immersive virtual experiences, can inject a refreshing dynamic into crisis communication, engaging stakeholders in novel ways. In the fast-evolving landscape of business strategy, staying informed through platforms like Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Management Review can provide cutting-edge insights and perspectives.

You are in charge of your own narrative so it is important to be cultivating that before a crisis. Additionally, you can demonstrate your values in how you navigate a crisis.