Michael Moore's new documentary on the healthcare system will require a confident, dignified response.  Are your crisis preparation and media relations skills up to speed?

What do you do when Michael Moore comes knocking on your door, camera crew in tow?  That's a question the pharmaceutical industry found itself asking when the gonzo filmmaker was shooting his new movie, Sicko, a none-too-flattering examination of the healthcare system in America. 

Somewhat similar questions were no doubt being asked by Jet Blue executives as they dealt with the JFK snowstorm in February, and by ConAgra executives when some jars of peanut butter were found to be contaminated with salmonella. 

In fact, these are questions any corporation should be asking itself these days, even if it has been controversy-free until now.  Because whether it's Moore, a blogger, a self-styled crusader or an investigative reporter, chances are it will happen to you-not because businesses behave badly, but because it's a near-inevitable result of today's hyperactive media environment and litigious society.

Between an ostrich and a chicken

While this was not the case with the pharmaceutical industry, Jet Blue of ConAgra, too often, the response to a Michael Moore of a Mike Wallace sticking a microphone in one's face is either to act like an ostrich-putting your head in the sand and hoping it all goes away-or to act like a chicken with its head cut off, flailing around frantically.

The opposite extremes of denial and panic are natural reactions to crisis, but neither serves as corporation's best interests.  What's critical is finding the right middle ground, taking action to avert a crisis, minimize damage or, better yet, turn adversity into success through systematic planning, rational analysis and calm, strategic decision-making.

How to do that?  Be a boy scout-be prepared.  That means assembling a crisis communications team today, even if it's hard to imagine any negative publicity befalling your company. 

This team should have clear lines of authority with each member having clearly delineated responsibilities.  It should conduct a thorough inventory of the company's potential liabilities and constantly monitor not only the news media, but the new media-especially key bloggers and Web sites-to anticipate in advance what potential crises could emerge.  It should constantly be on the lookout for actions it can take to pre-empt a possible crisis or to inoculate the company from negative publicity.  It should have rigorous crisis communications plans in place in case these efforts fail.  And the team should be battle-tested, with realistic crisis simulations undertaken on a regular basis.

It is especially important that the team's role and the crisis communications plan have total buy-in from the "C" suite-all the top executives.  Beyond this, the corporation should make communications with both external and internal audiences an integral part of its culture.

Key Elements  

In preparing for and/or responding to a potentially damaging media coverage crisis, six key elements are absolutely critical:

  1. There must be clear objectives-not only what damage the company wants to prevent but, more importantly, where it wants to be one month, one year and 10 years later.
  2. It is absolutely essential that the corporation know its audiences.  This includes everyone who impacts it-shareholders, customers, vendors, employees, community actors, legislators, regulators, competitors and, of course, the media.  While sticking to the same overriding message, the means of communicating with each audience must be tailored to its needs and expectations.
  3. The company must avoid the natural tendency toward myopia in the midst of a crisis and always keep the long-term front and center in its vision.  When you're getting beaten up, it's hard to notice much beyond the fists hitting your face and body.  But what counts the most aren't the unsightly bruises and accompanying pain, both of which will go away quickly-rather, it's avoiding damage to bones and major organs which could be long-lasting and even life-threatening.  Knowing the difference between whether the harm being inflicted is ephemeral or enduring is absolutely essential to making sound judgments in the midst of crisis.
  4. The company must be accessible.  Refusing to talk gives the appearance that there is something to hide.  If the corporation cannot get its story out, the other side will define the plot lines and redefine the company in key audience's minds.  Accessibility does not necessarily mean that anyone and everyone should have a green light to deal with the likes of the Moore or the media, but it does mean that designated people do, using the crisis communications plan as a guide.
  5. Take responsibility.  This does not mean admitting guilt when one is innocent-it simply means not being defensive, being clear and factual about what has transpired, and accepting responsibility when it is merited. 
  6. Always be armed with the facts, stick to them and tell the truth.  Credibility is a corporation's most valuable asset.  If that goes, profits and stock prices will follow.

Underestimating the new media

There are many other elements that must come into play in the crisis planning and management process.  One is understanding the new media, especially the Internet.  The percentage of people getting their news from the Web had increased from 60 percent to 75 percent over the past five years, and 11 percent of Americans use the Internet as their sole source of news.

What this means is that, combined with the growth of the all-news cable channels, news is now on a constant 24/7 cycle, requiring extraordinary speed and deftness on the part of corporations.  It also means that in a crisis, "reporting" will take place even in the absence of facts.  This requires corporations to constantly monitor key Web sites and the news channels, to have all the facts at hand as soon as possible, and to be swift in correcting errors and getting the story out.

This is especially critical because even mainstream journalists spend about 30 percent of their time seeing what is out there on the Web.  As a result, bloggers-who have no journalistic credentials or standards and sometimes have obvious axes to grind-often wind up shaping what is reported in the newspapers and on television.  Knowing who they are, what their agenda is and what they are up to could not be more important.

Crisis planning teams need to know not only the media environment but the larger context in which the company operates.  This includes the recent history of issues and media stories involving the company and its sector, a knowledge of how other companies have weathered their own storms and an understanding of best practices in crisis management.

Third-party validators  

Another important element is understanding the indispensable role of third-party validators.  They enhance the credibility of a company's case, they can communicate even more persuasively with certain audiences, and they add value to dealings with the news media.  But utilizing this vital tool requires building relationships long before a crisis hits and accepting the fact that that corporations and third-party organizations will not see eye to eye on every matter.

Confidence and pride

Ultimately, what will count the most is the story the company tells and the tone in which it is told.  There should be nothing defensive about how the company responds.  It should state with confidence how it operates, why it makes the decisions it makes and what mission it serves.

If something was done wrong, an admission, apology and rectification are in order, combined with pride in the company's overall achievements and reassurance that something similar will not happen again.  If nothing was done wrong, the company should state it clearly and plainly, providing the facts that prove the point, and then turning the story to the one the company wants told.  The response should be clear, straightforward, "real" and "authentic."

The bottom line is that an attack by the likes of Moore must be responded to-otherwise he tells the story and defines the terms of the debate-but it should not be a threat to the underlying fundamentals of a corporation.  Thus, to return to a fowl analogy dealing with foul events, when Moore comes knocking, a corporation should avoid the ostrich or chicken approach and instead try to be more like an eagle-alert, serious, dignified and tenacious when necessary.