Harvard Management

Communication Letter
A NEWSLETTER FROM HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, AND IDEAS FOR THE ARTICULATE EXECUTIVE

VOL. 5, NO. 5 • MAY 2002

What Will You Say THIS ISSUE

Writing  5

When Disaster Strikes? Writing Well When

Time Is Tight
By their very nature, crises are unpredictable. But what’s sure Using basic organizational
principles, you can create a quick,
is that they’re going to happen sooner or later. A sound crisis clear presentation of your ideas.
communications plan can help make a bad situation better. Communication Skills  7
BY RICHARD BIERCK Bridging the Divide
Two recent books examine communica-
s a high-profile company in the airplane industry, The Boe-

A
tion gaps and gaffes that can divide a
ing Company has long understood the importance of being team and diminish productivity.
prepared to respond to crisis. But in the last 15 months, the Presentations  9
unexpected has put the company’s crisis communications strategy to Reach Audience Members
the test. An earthquake rocked the Puget Sound region in February Where They Learn
2001, forcing the evacuation of 50,000 Boeing employees from hun- In your audience are visual,
dreds of buildings. When Boeing announced the following month that auditory, and kinesthetic learners.
it planned to relocate its headquarters out of Seattle, community Here’s how to craft a presentation
that appeals to them all.
response was more negative than anticipated. And in the wake of
9/11, Boeing’s financial outlook darkened dramatically, prompting Presentations  10
the company to target up to 30,000 people for layoff. Trial by Podium:
How to Emerge Triumphant
But these events only proved to the company that the crisis communications Faced with a tough speech or a tough
processes it had in place were sound. Just hours after the earthquake hit, for exam- audience? Then take a page from
ple, Boeing had a Web site up and running to let employees know which buildings Barbara Bush’s book and learn how she
would be open for business the next day, and communicators were able to get out dispatched both with wit and style.
press releases that afternoon despite not having access to their offices or PCs.
From the Editor’s Desk  11
“There can’t be a learning curve,” says Dean Tougas, crisis preparedness commu-
Six Ways to Win Over an Audience
nication plan manager at Boeing. “Everyone involved in the response to a crisis
has to be able to become immediately productive in handling it. That’s why it’s Quick Research Takes  12
critical to run training programs and build infrastructure.”

Because no company can predict when crises will occur, putting together an effec-
tive strategy to deal with them before they strike is crucial. Like other companies
that have had to grapple with significant—and often unexpected—difficulties,
Boeing knows that a poorly executed reaction can damage a company already
continued on page 2
What Will You Say? continued

reeling from a disaster, while a careful, tions plan for a client, the first thing it Harvard Management
quick response can minimize damage does is work with the client to identify Communication Letter
and, in some cases, actually strengthen six to 12 broad crisis categories. For a
Mission
a company.Yet while the benefits of publicly traded company, these might Harvard Management Communication Letter presents
having such a plan in place are clear, include the death or incapacity of a sen- expert insights, real-world experience, and practical applica-
many companies hesitate to set one up. ior executive, legal or ethical problems, tions of the latest research for managers and organizations
who want to improve their persuasive power and convey
“There’s a belief among many compa- workplace violence or terrorism, a labor important information effectively. The newsletter regularly
nies of, ‘It will never happen to us,’” dispute, and a strongly negative news covers written communications, meetings, electronic and
other high-tech channels, presentations, public relations and
says Michael Regester, a partner in story. Other potential areas of concern the media, and specific communications issues in the life of
Regester Larkin Ltd., a London-based for corporations are worker injury, an organization.
risk consulting firm, and coauthor of class-action lawsuits, recalls, misman- Group Editor Angelia Herrin
General Manager Eileen Marks
Risk Issues and Crisis Management: A agement, white-collar crime, and manu-
Editor Nick Morgan
Casebook of Best Practice. “That’s the facturing and distribution problems. Managing Editor C. Bielaszka-DuVernay
attitude we often encounter when talk- Contributing Editor Loren Gary
ing with potential clients. What turns Corporations aren’t the only organiza- Circulation Manager Paul Szymanski
Fulfillment Manager Gregory Daly
the light on for them is our demonstrat- tions, Smith adds, that need a crisis Communications Manager Lori Mirazita
ing the potential financial consequences communications plan; universities, List Manager Jamie Peterson
Circulation Analyst Adrienne Spelker
of damage to their reputations.” nonprofits, and government agencies Newsletter Coordinator Alexis Henslovitz
are just as susceptible to crises as corpo- Desktop Manager Yuiko Koizumi
Senior Desktop Specialist Makiko Kanzaki
Good crisis management doesn’t end rations are. Desktop Specialist Don MacDonald
simply with a plan. Many companies Manufacturing Manager Greg Mroczek
that have crisis-response plans in place Decide who the critical audiences are Manufacturing Coordinator
Marketing Manager
Max Tendler
George Pratt
develop such complacency about their Too many companies, Smith says, make Production Manager Susan Catterall
initial diligence that they fail to keep the mistake of thinking of the press as the Service Director Maureen Betses

their plans up-to-date. In many cases,
the key managers who were trained to
work together during crises have left the
company, and their replacements aren’t
aware of the duties of their predeces-
sors. In effect, then, these companies
have nothing more than a dusty script
without players.
Developing and updating an effective
crisis communications plan is anything
but business as usual. It requires hard
thinking about difficult scenarios to
equip yourself to move quickly when
crisis strikes. Speed is everything.
Look at Johnson & Johnson’s now-
legendary response to the Tylenol
bottle-tampering incidents in 1982. Or
consider how Pepsi’s quick, smart reac-
tion to the syringe scare the following
year caused a nationwide panic to sub-
side in a mere week.
As you build or refine your company’s
strategy for coping when crisis strikes,
here are some steps to take.
Identify the risk areas
Larry L. Smith, president of the Insti-
tute for Crisis Management (ICM), in
Louisville, Ky., says that when his com-
pany puts together a crisis communica-
primary audience to reach when disaster
strikes. “We tell companies to think of
the media not as the audience but as the
pipeline to reach the audience. In the
companies we consult for, 80% to 85%
of the time the employees are the first
or second most important audience.
They’re core to your business and thus
core to your business’s survival.” Plus,
Boeing’s Tougas points out, employees
“are the ones in contact with customers
and vendors as well as their family and
friends; they’re a vehicle for reaching the
wider public.”
Failure to keep employees apprised not
only alienates them, but it also makes
them wonder if the company is going to
survive the crisis. The only way to pre-
vent such sentiments is to maintain a
steady flow of information to them.
“This doesn’t mean just putting press
releases on the company Web site,” says
Jody Powell, press secretary to Presi-
dent Carter and now a partner in Powell
Tate, the Washington, D.C., office of the
global public relations agency Weber
Shandwick. Tell them directly about the
problem and suggest how to respond to
questions about it. It is especially
important that call-center employees
know what to say.
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Copyright © 2002 by Harvard Business School
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continued on page 3

H A R VA R D M A N AG E M E N T CO M M U N I C AT I O N L E T T E R  2
ICM helped Edgewater Technology
cope with the shooting at its Wakefield,
Mass., facility on December 26, 2001,
in which seven people died. Employees
and the families of victims were identi-
fied as the primary audience, and efforts
were immediately made to reach out to
them. “Seven executives volunteered to
serve as the personal link to the com-
pany for the family of each victim and
they remain so today,” Smith says.
“Counseling was made available almost
immediately and this information was
disseminated quickly. Supervisors were
given this information to share, and they
personally called all employees they
were responsible for; they also told
employees there would be an employee
meeting the next day for any questions.
A hotline was established for employ-
ees to call with issues, questions, con-
cerns—or just to talk to someone.”
Another critical audience Edgewater
Technology wanted to reach was its cus-
tomers. “The shooting happened on a
Tuesday; on Wednesday, sales staff
started calling their customers to tell
them that while design work would be
interrupted briefly, computer services
wouldn’t be,” Smith says. “In every
case, the customer said, ‘Don’t worry
about us; what can we do to help you?’
Edgewater acted very smartly in reach-
ing out so quickly to its audiences; doing
so helped the business and its employees
weather a truly terrible situation.”
Even if the press isn’t your primary
audience, you want to work with
reporters carefully. Powell advocates
implementing a “60/40” strategy. “Let’s
say a reporter is working on a story that
a company clearly won’t like,” he says.
“If a communicator works hard, she can
change the story from being 90% nega-
tive and 10% positive to 60% negative
and 40% positive.”
Put together a crisis
communications team
The crisis communications team should
include people from different depart-
ments, and each member of the team
should have a clear idea of his or her
responsibilities in putting the plan into
action. It is also helpful if team members
get to know one another before crisis
strikes, because with familiarity comes
trust—critical when a company is under
pressure and its employees have to work
together in unaccustomed ways.
“Sometimes there are turf issues that
need to be overcome at the outset,” says
Powell, and sometimes friction arises
Depending on your company’s
size, one crisis communications
team may not be enough.
from cultural issues. “For example,
there tends to be a natural tension
between communications people and
lawyers; the former tend to want to
answer questions whereas the latter
tend not to want to show the company’s
cards until they have to.”
Depending on your company’s size, one
crisis communications team may not be
enough. At Boeing, for instance, differ-
ent communicators head up different
crisis-response teams. “In a company so
large, with products so diverse, you
can’t provide background fast enough
for a generalist to come up to speed,”
Tougas says. “Each communicator has
expertise in particular operations or
products; when a crisis emerges in that
functional area, he or she becomes
responsible for communications around
that crisis.” Even if the communicators
work from different knowledge bases,
they are all on the same page when it
comes to knowing how to work a crisis
communications plan, and they follow
the same well-defined procedures.
Appoint spokespeople for
different types of crises
Much of this will be obvious: the CFO is
probably the best person to speak about
financial crises, for example. But how
well does the CFO do before the cam-
era? Now, rather than later, is the time to
get him or her some quick media train-
ing. “You don’t need to be doing this in
the middle of a firefight,” says Powell.
M AY 2 0 0 2  3
Sometimes, the only person who is
appropriate for addressing the subject is
the CEO. So CEOs should be involved
to some degree in crisis planning.
“Clearly, the effort needs to have the
CEO’s imprimatur if people are going
to take it seriously, and the CEO needs
to know what’s going on,” Powell says.
“The company must continue to run,
and decisions have to be made. But
regardless of how involved the CEO is,
he or she should have some serious
media training so as to be able to evalu-
ate the efforts of top managers from an
informed standpoint.”
If for whatever reason the CEO isn’t
directly involved in crisis communica-
tions planning, then it’s important to
appoint a head decision maker, says
Stephen Haynes, a partner in the
Integrity Resource Group, a consulting
firm based in Olney, Md. “You must
know in advance who in the company is
going to make the final decision on how
to respond and on what kind of informa-
tion is to be released.”
Create an in-house litigation/
communications “shop,” if appropriate
This is especially helpful for any com-
pany subject to the vicissitudes of class-
action lawsuits, which can seriously
affect a company’s reputation and share
price—you don’t want to be building life
rafts while the ship is going down. “The
worst situation to find yourself in is to be
on trial in a court of law and in a court of
public opinion at the same time,” says
Powell. “The rules of evidence in each
are not parallel, yet you have to fight as a
team on these parallel fronts.”
Members of this shop should include
communicators who have worked in
crisis situations and understand legal
and regulatory ramifications, including
public policy people and lobbyists. “It’s
not unusual for a festering crisis to have
profound implications for Washington,”
says Powell. “But it’s more common
than you think to leave out the Washing-
ton people.”
Don’t be afraid to bring in contract
communications help; sometimes
continued on page 4
What Will You Say? continued

bringing in outside communications
help is as necessary as bringing in an
outside litigator. “Outsiders will say
things that staffers won’t,” says Powell.
“They’re able to tell companies things
they don’t want to hear.”
Prepackage your virtues
If they’re responsible, companies that
perennially anticipate problems also try
to prevent them. Yet no one will know of
these efforts if you don’t keep track of
them during the normal course of busi-
ness. “Let’s assume you are doing the
right thing to avoid crises in any area:
consumer product safety, workplace
safety, security, you name it,” says Pow-
ell. “When something big pops, you
need to have this material collected and
stored somewhere where it’s accessible.”
Regester takes preparedness a step
further. He recommends readying for
distribution copious background infor-
mation about the company and relevant
plants or offices. This, he says, fills the
damaging “information void” that typi-
cally develops during the first 24 hours
of a crisis—a void that, if unfilled by the
company, can soon become replete with
negative and/or inaccurate fodder.
“Offer the media background on the
company or the installation affected,” he
says. “This creates valuable breathing
space to gather and check information
about the incident, and it demonstrates
that the company is cooperating.”
None of these recommendations is a
panacea; the very nature of crises is that
they’re unpredictable. Yet having a
well-tuned plan in place provides a
structure to work within. The ideal plan
balances defined actions with adaptabil-
ity. Says Boeing’s Tougas: “A standard-
ized process that’s too detailed isn’t
helpful; scalability is crucial. The same
basic plan should work for a fire in a
specific building and for an earthquake
that affects many sites across a region.”
Above all, your crisis communications
strategy should help your company deal
quickly and forthrightly with a crisis. “If
companies display honesty and show
they’re able to solve or cope with the
problem,” says Smith, “most people are
usually willing to forgive and forget.” ❑
—Richard Bierck is a business writer
based in Princeton, N.J. His work
has appeared in U.S. News & World
Report, Bloomberg Personal
Finance, and Parade. He can be
reached at hmcl@hbsp.harvard.edu
FURTHER READING
Risk Issues and Crisis Management:
A Casebook of Best Practice
by Michael Regester and Judy Larkin
2002  Kogan Page
Reprint # C0205A
To order a reprint of this article, call 800-668-6705 or 617-783-7474.

Crisis Communications: For Boeing, It’s a Matter of Accuracy

Boeing’s crisis management and crisis communications
strategies are designed to respond to two distinct types of
issues. In the first category are “emotional events” that, if
not handled correctly, can mushroom into crises. These
include non-life-threatening product, brand, and corporate-
image problems. In the second category are the issues no
one wants to have to face: true emergencies such as air-
plane malfunctions and crashes in which people are
injured or killed.
When Boeing made the announcement a little over a year
ago that it planned to move its headquarters from Seattle to
Chicago, some people heard this as “Boeing is leaving
Seattle.” Dean Tougas, crisis preparedness communica-
tion plan manager at Boeing, says, “Suddenly government
and community leaders had a lot of concerns. Having
communications plans in place to reach those people and
provide information was important in preventing this
event from becoming a crisis. We needed to reassure them
that the community support they had relied upon us for
would remain the same; we had to clarify that the move
would result in only 300 to 400 people leaving the area,
not 80,000 jobs.”
Getting accurate information out was key to Boeing’s
strategy here, as it is when the company faces second-
category crises. But in these situations, Boeing’s commu-
nicators and specialists are much more likely to work
behind the scenes.
“When an airplane we manufactured is involved in an
accident, we play a secondary role because the airline is
the first-line company involved and government investiga-
tors are out front and center,” says Tougas. In the event of a
U.S. plane crash, Boeing works with the Federal Aviation
Administration and the National Transportation Safety
Board as part of the investigation team. Larry McCracken,
vice president of media relations at Boeing, says, “In addi-
tion to Boeing people who become part of the accident
investigation team, Boeing also sends technical communi-
cators to help reporters understand the mechanics of acci-
dents, to explain what exactly the rudder, actuator,
elevator, etc., do.”
With an airplane accident, Tougas explains, there’s so
much room for speculation and rumor. “We’ve found the
best way to combat that is to have technical experts explain
why seemingly obvious conclusions aren’t that obvious at
all.” Accurate reporting is in everyone’s best interest,
McCracken says. Victims’ families deserve it. The public
needs it. And Boeing’s clients appreciate Boeing’s efforts
to promote it.

H A R VA R D M A N AG E M E N T CO M M U N I C AT I O N L E T T E R  4
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