Matt Eventoff

Monday and Tuesday were voluminous with brewing crises — one of the biggest political party switches in history, a new potential pandemic, and a decision to fly Air Force One over Ground Zero — all offered valuable, and contrasting, examples of communicating during an early stage of a crisis, and just how critical getting out in front with a central message is.  So what can we learn so far this week?

The Good…

Kudos to the Center for Disease Control, Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, the American Meat Institute and the National Pork Producers Council.  Hit with a crisis out of nowhere, and one that was tagged with an unfortunate name for a whole industry, the government and industry really scored an immediate victory and one that can not be understated. 

Almost immediately after the news hit, there were statements from every one of these entities alerting the public that you can not contract the virus from eating pork or pork products.  It has been repeated regularly.  This is no small victory, and provides crucial crisis communications lessons for every organizational leader:

1. Communicate early – and often! – The response was immediate, which allowed the message to get through in initial stories as opinions were being formulated.

2. Have a Message- You can not contract the virus from eating pork or pork products.  Easy to understand, easy to repeat and self-explanatory – a very good message.

3. Focus on what you can control – the media tagged this with a name that was unfortunate for the entire industry almost immediately.  There has been a concerted effort to change the name — not easy, and largely out of any business or industry’s control.  What you can control is your message, what you say, where you say it, how you say it, etc. The industry has really succeeded in an unwinnable situation.

The Not So Good…

There really is no way to sugar coat it — yesterday was a good day for Democrats and a bad one for Republicans.  A longtime United States Senator switching parties is a) huge news and b) never good for the party which that Senator is leaving.

The Senator gave a very clear explanation of why he was switching and had a very clear message.  Democratic leadership had a relatively easy task – graciously accepting their new colleague.  The Republican leadership had a much more difficult task — messaging bad news without appearing petty or divided.  What happened?

1. Words Matters - When facing news like this, language matters.  Senator Orrin Hatch understood this and issued a near perfect response in this situation: “I deeply regret my good friend Arlen Specter’s decision to leave the Republican Party. Having spoken with him, I know this was a very difficult decision for him, and we will always remain friends.”

Contrast this with the message coming from the National Republican Congressional Committee: “Today, Senator Arlen Specter switched his party affiliation to the Democrat Party. I hope you will join me in saying “Good Riddance.” 

Ouch!  Words matter.

2. Have One Message - The Party needed to stand as one yesterday, and failed to realize that once Senator Specter switched, it was no longer about him.  The switch, while only seconds old, was history.  In a situation like this, the Party needed to “message forward.” 

Some party leaders did this very well, focusing the message on what this will mean for the Country, while others stayed mired in why Senator Specter switched.  Too many messages is the same as too many cooks in the kitchen — spoils the message just as it spoils the meal.

 3. Appearances Matter – The Party needed to appear unified – the audience was not, and is not, Washington, it is the American public.  Inclusion, not exclusion. 

The lack of a coordinated message has led to mixed messages which leave the public confused.  A confused public is not one that will rally behind a party, leader or cause.  In the next few days the Party must put forth a clear, coherent message. It’s crucial.

The Ugly…

Flying a jumbo jet over the site of the worst terrorist attack on American soil for a photo op for public relations photos was a crisis communications disaster on every level.  There are a number of lessons here, however one that is more important than any other:

1. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate – There was both a complete lack of proper communication, and a complete breakdown in the communication that actually occurred.  Odds are none of this would have occurred if communicated properly. 

The same holds true in every organization — open lines of communication help mitigate disasters. Communicate, communicate early, and communicate often.

Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent has the world abuzz and has generated name i.d. and popularity for Ms. Boyle that any politician, public figure or CEO dreams about (aside from the current President, in a good way, and Bernie Madoff, in a bad way.)

Five lessons that every speaker can learn from Ms. Boyle:

1.  Everyone is Nervous- Unfortunately, Susan’s way of handling it is not normal.  Her fear was evident in both the interviews prior to and following her performance.  Watching closely, you can see her hand tremble as the judges question her. She even loses her train of thought while answering a question….

2. How you handle it makes all the difference – Susan Boyle exemplifies the phrase “Grace under Pressure.”  Watch her focus in-between cueing the music and beginning to sing — a quick glance down, both hands grip the microphone, and a small smile comes to her lips — we all entered her zone at this point, and she knew it.  Every speaker can take his or her audience to a similar “zone.”  How?

3. Practice Matters – a lot!- I don’t know a lot about music, that song or Susan Boyle, but I do know this — that was far from the first time Ms. Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream.”   Everyone always asks for the “killer app” to eliminate stage fright.  Practice.

4. Presence – Susan owned the stage, even while nervous, even while being booed and even while being questioned. She stood center stage with her shoulders back, eyes focused, smiling, and her body language, while self-deprecating and humorous (which does not work for everyone) was authentic.  She was not trying to be something she was not, and that certainly helped her hold the stage.

5. The Audience is with You – Whether you believe it or not, your audience does not want you to fail.  Very few people are naturally comfortable with speaking in public, and your audience would rather not be bored to tears or watch you fail — they would much rather be engaged, enlightened, and/or educated.  The crowd Susan Boyle faced was borderline hostile in the beginning, and three minutes later would have bought anything that she was selling.  Three minutes later.

*Susan’s appearance has been blogged into submission, and won’t be analyzed here.

Communicating or delivering negative or “bad” news is without question an art form. (I do disagree with the contention that delivering good news properly is not an art – it is)So how do you do it? What’s the secret formula?

While there is no secret formula, there are clear, concrete steps every business leader can take to ensure that communications are effective during down cycles and quarters.

1. Develop Relationships with Board Members and Investors BEFORE a crisis or bad news hits - seems like common sense but this often gets pushed to the side in favor of day to day responsibilities that yield immediate results.  It is much easier to communicate bad news to someone who is used to hearing from you regularly than someone who hears from you once a quarter. There is a reason why some of the greatest political leaders of our time continue to make phone calls and write notes to key supporters during off years, long before election season is looming on the horizon. How can you do this?

2. Communicate more often - not only at monthly meetings, especially during tough economic times.. Yes, this is a bit counterintuitive as a CEO wants to spend as much time as possible “adding value,” however I would argue that keeping investors and Board members active, involved and included(rather than frustrated) adds as much value as anything else.

3a. Get in the habit of a regular schedule to communication – One technique that works well are weekly email “Updates from the CEO” which consist of a paragraph or two delivered once a week with the high and low points for the company for the week. Why? It reinforces the message of engagement with the Board and investors, by getting the Board in the habit of receiving regular correspondence outside of when they are “supposed” to get it.  This is the “baby” step.

3b. Pick up the Phone – 3a would be a bicycle with training wheels, and 3b is the mountain bike.  Call your investors and Board members weekly.  They might be too busy to take the call. Call anyway.  They may tell you not to call every week. Call anyway.  Everything you do sends a message and reaching out on a very regular basis sends a very clear message to your board and your investors….

At the same time you are doing the above,

4. Communicate within the organization as well! – Be open. Be available. Talk to people. If you are a CEO, be seen. Nothing is worse than a CEO who stays behind closed doors.  Your organization needs to not only know what is going on, but what it means (the message) — and an important point for CEO’s – what it means to you is very likely different than what it means to an employee.

5. Treat your top talent as you would your board and investors – If you think you have talked to them enough, go back and talk to them one more time. Trust me, if your top talent is nervous, and they are, and you are not communicating with them, they are looking elsewhere. As times get more challenging your top talent becomes more valuable. Replacing superstars in this environment is not easy.

6. Be Consistent – Nothing deflates an organization, a board, or an investor more than perceived inconsistency in communication or communication style.  Everything you do as a CEO sends a message, and communications, or lack thereof, sends a clear message to a Board or investors (hint - not a positive one)

7. Be Open with Information- Trying to hide bad news a) is no longer possible and b) will absolutely destroy all credibility. In a 24/7 information cycle, the news will come out, and it is always better if an organization delivers it than if it is delivered by someone else.

Josh over at RedEye made an excellent point – “Sharing data with a board does not mean that you are sharing control. Rather, I believe that an informed and knowledgeable board will be less intrusive (and more hands-off) than a board that is in the dark.” Well said.

Earlier today, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein addressed the Council of Institutional Investors conference in Manhattan.  The content of the address has received fairly intense scrutiny, both positive and not so positive (including this comparison to the recent Alex Rodriguez mea culpa, courtesy of Jessica Pressler over at New York Magazine).

From a communications perspective, there were definitely lessons to be learned.

This address will receive endless media attention not only for what Mr. Blankfein said in his speech, but for what occurred in the middle of it.  In mid-sentence, two demonstrators’ from the organization Code Pink took the stage carrying a banner stating, “We Want Our $$$$$ Back!” 

Not an easy situation at all, but one that was handled extremely well by both Mr. Blankfein and Code Pink, and actually may end playing to the benefit of both.

The lessons:

1. Keep your composure – no matter the situation – I have witnessed a number of business executives and elected officials handle protesters or hecklers poorly, so kudos to Mr. Blankfein for keeping his cool in a very trying circumstance.  Giving a live, televised speech, that will be watched and commented on in harrowing enough, without the added pressure of a completely unanticipated interruption.  Mr. Blankfein could have reacted in a number of different ways– either getting flustered, angry, hostile, nervous – but he didn’t. 

He remained cool and interactive. He was conscious of his body language and his choice to pause for a few seconds prior to addressing the protesters was excellent.  His next decision to address the protesters, acknowledge the message they were delivering, and negotiate them off of the stage was very well done.

2. Everything you do sends a message – everything – From another perspective, the protesters from Code Pink entered into what is also very difficult territory; A live, televised address, a crowd that is probably not thrilled with the decision to show up on stage, security, not to mention a speaker who is more than likely a much more experienced public speaker than the protesters. 

The protesters were there to deliver a message, to deliver it to as many people as possible, and to have a lasting impact on the discussion.  It worked.  Not only did Mr. Blankfein acknowledge the message, he agreed to address it.  Why? In my opinion, the woman who addressed him was very polite, addressing him as ”sir,” had a very polite exchange and when asked, agreed to leave the stage. What happened? The crowd broke out in applause, no heckling, message delivered, and for the time being, mission accomplished.

3.  Conversations work – Mr. Blankfein was able to effectively negotiate the protesters off of the stage because he listened.  Very important. He was aware of both audiences, knew what the protesters wanted, knew the larger audience wanted the presentation to continue, and he acted.  All to often, when speaking, leaders know what they want to say but are not nearly as in tune with what the audience wants to hear, or is interested in.  Public speaking is about the audience, not the speaker, a point often lost.  Again, kudos to Lloyd Blankfein.

There was also another valuable communications lesson to learn from Mr. Blankfein’s address — The person who was delivering the speech this morning seemed to be a different person than the one who addressed the protesters in the middle of it! Why:

4. Please, please, please do NOT read a speech – all of the characteristics that made the interaction with the protestors so successful seemed to disappear before and after the interaction.

Watch the clip — Not much eye contact, very little movement, very visibly reading the speech word for word, speaking down into the podium (which makes it more difficult for your audience to understand) — in summary, not very engaging. 

Unfortunately, this is fairly common when watching leaders speak publicly.  People who are unbelievably conversational, warm, and engaging become robotic, stiff and flat when stepping on stage or up to a podium. More often than not, they are unaware of the change in demeanor or persona. 

Communications training is invaluable in curing this; that being said practice, self-awareness and preparation are very helpful in making sure “you” show up when you speak.