Action Plan for Crisis (PDF) - Theatre Communications Group

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! Identify key spokespeople for your institution. Crisisor not, there should always be a clear sense of who isempowered to speak for the organization and in whatsituations. Make sure these people are well trained indealing with media.! Keep your Board fully apprised of the implications ofALL of your work at all times. Again, the time is toolate to open a discussion about challenging work whenthe arts are under attack; your Board must be prepped andready to speak with a unified voice when crisis hits. Andas leaders in their respective communities, they can beour most powerful advocates.! Make sure you have a well developed mission statement.The mission will ultimately be the touchstoneagainst which the crisis and response will be measured. Acrisis is not the time to discover that it is either ill-definedor ill-understood by your organization.WHEN THE CRISIS HAPPENS(AND DON’T THINK IT WON’T)! Don’t panic. Too many groups find themselves introuble simply because they responded too quickly andwithout sufficient thought.! Gather all relevant materials and information. Checkgrant files, insurance forms, etc. that you may haveinternally; try to gather any statements, news coverage,etc., that helps you get a clear picture of exactly what thecrisis is. Focus groups can be instrumental in helping youdetermine exactly what the issues are for your community.! Convene the key players in your organization andthose affected by the crisis. Board leadership, key staffand individual artists— to come up with a strategy. If atall possible, engage the services of a media-consultinggroup. Some may do it pro bono, others not, but it’samazing what you might find.! Seek legal advice. The one acceptable situation in whichyou can refuse to comment is in the event of litigation.Even here, it is friendlier to say “It is our policy not tocomment on litigation or legal actions” than “Nocomment” (which always sounds like you’re hidingsomething).! Keep your staff and remainder of the Board on top ofevents. Explain what the source of the crisis is and thatyou and key players are devising a strategy. If at allpossible, give a time frame in which the strategy will beannounced. All team members should have the sameinformation and be working from the same script as thescenario changes.! Be clear in articulating who will be responsible forspeaking for the organization with the public and insistthat everyone else defer to the spokesperson. Too muchdamage can be done by well-meaning (or not so wellmeaning) insiders, who conjecture or try to explain orgive unauthorized interpretations. Make no exceptions.At the same time, it is naïve to think that others will notbe speaking with friends, spouses/partners, neighbors. Itis essential that they understand the limits of their powerto speak for the organization, while at the same timeunderstanding the messages that the organization isputting forward.ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS! Were we right? Or were we wrong? Or to what extentwere we right; to which were we wrong? All successfulefforts must be based on an honest, and yet not defensive,assessment of these questions. If you are going to askyour team to defend your actions, you need to be clearabout what you did that was right. If you were right, youshould still ask “What would we have done differently?’’Similarly, you should be prepared to admit that you werewrong if indeed you were. We are all more likely toforgive someone who says, “You know, we were wrong.We moved too quickly and took a misstep” than someonewho refuses to admit any wrongdoing. Remember Nixon:defensiveness and arrogance can be the biggest enemies.Be prepared for this to be painful, but looking within is asimportant as looking outside. Your staff is likely to havestrong feelings. This is the time they can air it; they’ll beasked to walk the party line later.! Know what is essential to be protected. Is it yourreputation? Continued funding? Protection of people’slives? Artistic integrity? Standing in the community?Financial stability? Etc.DEVISING A STRATEGY! Clearly articulate the problem.! Devise two or three key messages. No more. The morekey messages you have, the more diffused the centralmessage to your audiences will be and the more open tomisinterpretation. If we can be of help here at TCG indevising these messages, call us immediately for feedbackor ideas. When possible, be specific in your facts butexpansive in your principles; in general, arguing contentof the piece or excellence of the artist, for example, is afutile exercise, unlikely to be enough to overcome thecrisis and more likely to mire you in endless fingerpointing. While affirming your dedication to the artist,try to move the conversation to the right of the audienceto decide for themselves, the value of having a communitythat encourages diverse expressions, etc.! Measure your key messages against your mission.A reminder of why your organization exists and how theparticular issue fits with your mission (if this is a controversy)is one of your best lines of defense.! Try to anticipate reactions. Ask yourself how peoplewill react, given your approach. How will their reactionsaffect the crisis? How will their reactions affect yourcoalitions and teams?June 1998 Page 2
! Identify your key spokespeople. Keep the circle small;again, the more spokespeople, the greater the confusion islikely to be and the more opportunity for misinformation.! Assign specific responsibilities to specific individuals.Don’t inadvertently let the ball get dropped.! Identify specific ways in which your partners andcoalition can help. Petitions? Letters to the editor?Articles in their own publications? A signed roster ofsupporters in your own program? Once you begin toarticulate some helpful ideas, good partners are likely tocome forward with additional ideas of their own.! Decide on a coordinated strategy–a press conference?A series of town meetings? A single interview with asingle paper? A televised interview? Letters? Personalvisits? Telephone calls? Video conference? Advertising?Internal publications/memos? Curtain speeches?(Curtain speeches are a great communication device.You have a captive audience for whom you can frame theissue; the absence of an explanation in the midst of acrisis might suggest to your audience that you havesomething to hide.) Faxes? E-mail? Etc.! Whatever your strategy, be ready to handle the media.It’s impossible to predict what they might find a “story.”(A section of General Media Tips appears at the end ofthis plan.)! Determine how success or failure will be measured.How will the team know if the crisis has been handledeffectively?BEFORE YOU RESPOND! Assemble a fact sheet that can be shared with anyoutsider. Come up with a headline that positions you asopen and responsive— “Glad You Asked” or “To Answeryour Concerns” etc. You can present this as a narrative,or as a Q&A format, addressing anticipated questions.Make the direct answer in the first sentence, with elaboration(if necessary) to follow. Examples: Were peopleinjured in the fire at the theater? Answer: No one wasinjured at the fire. Two people were treated for smokeinhalation, etc. Did the NEA fund this project? Answer:There is no public money being used for this project. Our1997 grant supported outreach efforts to elderly citizensand in no way is attached to this effort, etc. This sheetshould present the facts of the case from your point ofview. Keep the details specific but avoid minutiae; makesure that every fact is in some way linked to one of yourtwo or three key messages; make sure you always tell thetruth.! Assemble your “team” for a briefing. Include theremainder of the Board and staff, your key coalitionmembers (always including TCG by now, if notbefore.) Share the results of the thinking so far anddistribute written copies of your fact sheet; identify yourkey messages, the identity of your spokespeople, yoursuggestions for their involvement. Literally everyone onyour staff— box office who is likely to come into contactwith the public, actors who are likely to be encountered,etc., needs to be clear on your key messages. Welcometheir ideas— not only for their involvement, but for yourkey messages as well. Insist on your need to control themessages: you may decide that your originals are the best,but partners can be quite useful in fine tuning or inhelping you prevent being sucker punched in ways youhad not foreseen. If at all possible, convene this teamsimultaneously, minimizing leaking rumors. Givenlogistics, it is more probable than many will be notifiedby telephone or in other ways. However you contactthem, make your contacts timely and immediate; coalitionscan be inadvertently disrupted if partners feel theyare being left “in the dark.” Give them a clear timetableof your response.NOW RESPOND! Now and only now are you ready to respond to the greateroutside world and your critics. Follow the strategy youhave devised above.! Distribute your facts sheet or media alert releases.Invite questions to the degree you are comfortable.! Have a fact checking process. Identify key staff whocan verify facts/allegations from the outside world, aswell as staff who can provide you with concrete facts andfigures you will need to respond.! Have one spokesperson available at all times. Knowspokespeople locations. Make sure all team membershave provided home numbers, weekend numbers, mobilephones/beeper numbers, etc. Make sure the spokespeoplehave these numbers.! Touch base daily to assess the flow of events, the powerof the messages, and future steps you will need to take.! Establish mechanisms to collect information fromyour audiences. Devise a way to centrally collect allnews clippings, letters, faxes, e-mails, etc. If appropriate,survey your audiences.! Be patient. These things take time and energy.! Take time to thank your partners with a quick phonecall or a note. All of your partners deserve a note ofthanks, even if ultimately they are unable to join yourefforts— at least thank them for their time in joining youto discuss the issues and hear you out. You might needthem in another context that they are more comfortablewith in the future!! Additional thanks are due when their efforts are visible,e.g. a quotation in the press, an interview, etc. Everyonelikes to know his or her efforts are making a difference.! Don’t be afraid to ask for help or articulate your ownneeds. Take a day off if you need to; better to be reenergizedand ready than overextended and burned out. Theoffhand remark born of fatigue can do far more damagethan you can imagine. Simply be clear in appointing thechain of responsibility in your absence.June 1998 Page 3
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