Crisis Management: Forewarned is Forearmed

Big disasters remind executives that crisis communications is a critical part of strategic planning, but consciousness fades quickly, and with it, response time.

Abstract

Four years ago, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling millions of barrels of oil and despoiling a priceless wilderness. Exxon's clumsy reaction to the crisis raised awareness in boardrooms across America, and corporations went to work crafting crisis communications plans that would, they assumed, save them the embarrassment — not to mention the financial loss — Exxon and its chairman, Lawrence G. Rawl, faced.