All the world's a stage and successful organizations are vigilant about directing every aspect of the Performance Art. Think how masterfully Apple Computer orchestrates its secrecy to help create hype for when the new product is announced. Those who vilify Apple for playing its cards so close to its vest don't understand managing the media.
So, it's a disappointment to witness how seemingly ineptly law firm White & Case is handling the Miami White and SexyLexus scandal. That tale, which has tongues wagging, is the usual case of an extramarital affair in which an irate husband and four children under six become involved. White & Case has said: No Comment. Shame on it. In this black-swan era when the unpredictable has become the new normal, every organization should have down cold Crisis Management 101. That entails:
- Never saying no comment. That opens the door for every constituency, ranging from competitors to media, to gain control of the story.
- Getting in front of the story. That means collecting what data are available and making an interim statement, with the promise that more information will be released when it is available. Every story, no matter how trivial, must be gotten in front of.
- Doing damage control through old-fashioned common sense. For instance, this isn't the first or the last incident of a high-profile extramarital activity. Remember how the HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW faced that when Jack Welch swept the Editor-in-Chief off her feet. It fits the bill to note, "These human events occur in many organizations. They have allegedly occurred here at White & Case. We are investigating what is a personal matter which doesn't concern the firm and what is a business matter which could concern the firm. Our goal at White & Case is to prevent this from distracting us from our clients's needs."
- Maintaining decorum. It's not what happens but how we handle it. Threats to the stability of a family and the relationship between a husband and wife are not funny. Those cause murders.
Of course, lots of Crisis 101 comes down to basic Emotional Intelligence [EI] in the workplace. Here is a complimentary ebook which has had more than a million downloads Download CUsersjasneDocumentsjg.
Note: Readers ask me if White & Case might have issued Tweets on this. My answer is yes. That approach, atypical for a law firm, would have given the organization unique control over the situation.
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