Let’s just cut to the chase. A crisis will come.
If it is to your industry, your life, your business, or your community- to think that the impressions you make will always be drama free and never under attack is a bit foolish.
Like with every other disaster that comes your way, preparation is a girl’s best friend.
So when prepping your brand and the impressions you make for crisis management, consider these Olivia Pope “esec” techniques.
Know where you stand. Know the hows and whys of what you do. Know where you stand against or with the social and industry norms.
Know the real enemy. Is it a personal accusation? An industry-wide shakedown? Of an industry influencer trying to make themselves look better?
Choose your mode. If the crisis doesn't have anything to do with you, directly take the educational approach. Educate people on why this happened and how it can be fixed.
If it is an accusation directly about you, take the opaque approach instantly. The opaque approach is somewhat transparent, but the details are fuzzy. By being opaque about the situation, you can ease concerns but not allow people to get caught up on the finer details that don’t truly matter. For example, she used a red pen to sign her name. That is a sign she was out for blood. Or it could be that she just liked writing in red ink or that it was the only pen around.
Being opaque vs. transparent helps to keep the audience’s focus on the resolution and not go down the rabbit hole of details.
Be prepared for when a crisis comes. Create practice scenarios that are business or industry-specific that you can run through to keep your mind sharp and your skill ready. Because one day, this won’t be a drill.