Helping New York weather the storm
New Yorkers are no strangers to crisis, but Hurricane Sandy truly put the city’s crisis management skills to the test. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was at the helm, and faced close scrutiny regarding his handling of the entire situation.
The verdict? The veteran mayor turned in a powerful performance, navigating the perils of crisis communication and disaster management with confidence. In an interview with The Financialist, Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein shared his thoughts on one of the reasons Bloomberg’s crisis management was so successful:
“There is no city in the country that has had as much practice as New York in crisis management,” says Bernstein. “Those speaking for the City of New York, and certainly Mayor Bloomberg, had a good plan in place which they began implementing well in advance of the storm.”
The old adage “practice makes perfect” applies, well, perfectly, to crisis management. Of course, it’s much less strenuous to hone your crisis management skills in simulations and training exercises than in the midst of a major incident; that’s why smart organizations, from city governments to retail chains, devote time and resources to regular practice – ironing out the kinks and confusion before it really counts.
You can’t prevent every crisis, but with the right mix of preparation, action and communication you can certainly mitigate their effects. Well done Mayor Bloomberg.
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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]
Jonathan L. Bernstein, founder and Chairman of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. has more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of crisis management – crisis response, vulnerability assessment, planning, training and simulations.
Erik Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management. Erik started with BCM in 2009 as a writer and subsequently became social media manager for the consultancy itself as well as for a number of BCM clients before moving to the president position.