MUST READ article in The Strategist magazine: The Tony Hayward Effect

If any of you found the summer issue of PRSA's The Public Relations Strategist on your desk like I did last week, you've got to pick it up and take a peek inside. Almost the entire issue was dedicated to critiquing BP's crisis response to the Gulf oil spill. There was an article I loved, called "The Tony Hayward Effect." I know a lot of us automatically use our CEO as our official spokesperson during a crisis, but should we?

The author of this article didn't necessarily think so. His rationale?

• If the CEO doesn't have strong verbal skills, then he or she shouldn't be the spokesperson (seems like a common sense decision to make!)
• The CEO should be in the crisis command center, actually managing the crisis team and the company (another, duh!)
• If the CEO mispeaks, there is no higher ranking official to come behind him or her to rectify the situation. At least if a lower ranking official mispeaks, a CEO can come from behind and help make amends.

So what do all of you think? Are we taking the wrong approach to crises, by automatically putting our CEOs out front every time? Is it doing more harm than good? The author of this article believes a well-trained PR person should take the lead while the crisis managment team moves into place. After the team is in place, then a subject matter expert should take the spokesperson role, allowing the CEO and other executives to effectively manage the crisis. They say to let a CEO take the lead in a short lived crisis, but he or she should only pop up when truly needed in a longer crisis. A higher priority should be for the CEO to oversee the crisis team and manage the parts of the company that are still up and running.

I have to admit, it would be tough to expect someone to manage a crisis the size of BP's this past summer, while also giving constant updates to media. No doubt, that's what probably led to Hayward's very public blunders, such as the infamous "I'd like my life back" comment.

The magazine also offered some worthwhile tips to give any executive who is acting as a spokesperson in a crisis... hopefully these are all practices we knowledgable and wise PR already employ.... hopefully! lol...

1. Don't talk to the media... talk to the media's audience! Remember, the press is just a vehicle to get your message to the actual public. Drop the industry jargon, speak simply and be inclusive to your audience.
2. Think about the bottome line. (I love this one!) If you could attach a dollar to every word you say, would you make money or lose money? Hmmm... touche!
3. Talk the way reporters write. Start with the headline, follow with a great quote, then add facts sparingly. It's worthwhile to remind everyone that a full TV package is only a minute-twenty seconds and VOs and VO/SOTs are much, much shorter.
4. Know your personality types. Analytical types give too many figures and stats, introverts may be too shy, and emotional types might get off topic. Adjust accordingly for each situation.
5. Practice, practice, practice! Even if you only get a few minutes before the interview.
   

And lucky for us... A spokesperson from BP will be appearing at the PRSA Tulsa Chapter's annual professional development conference, coming up Oct. 14th at OU-Tulsa. To check out the agenda, or to register, just click here: http://bit.ly/b04KEy

Be sure to think up some really good questions for our speaker! Hope to see you all there!