By erik on April 22, 2019
[The following is an excerpt from a guest contribution by Silicon Valley-based writer Leslie Kelsay, who explains why crisis communications pros need to take a stand in regards to attorneys over-lawyering messaging when a simple explanation is best.] We get it: Corporate counsel’s job is to protect the organization from risk. But crisis communicators often must […]
By erik on March 19, 2019
What do you think? Is this strategy smart, or overly risky? Whether you want them to or not, someone who has been a public representative of your company for many years carries that association with them even after they retire. That means whatever they decide to do with their personal life…well, it’s going to impact […]
By erik on February 26, 2019
Create a rock-solid foundation for crisis communications Crisis communications plans cannot be cookie-cutter, but there are certain principles that apply to just about every situation. Get the core bits down pat, and you’ll leave yourself significantly more room to think about incident-specific actions or outside-the-box solutions to the issue at hand. In a simple yet highly informative […]
By erik on August 17, 2018
All organizations are vulnerable to crises. Disasters, lawsuits, accusations of impropriety, sudden changes in ownership or management, and other volatile situations will happen. The threat of serious damage to people, property, reputation is real for virtually any organization, and many individuals as well. The cheapest way to turn experience into future profits is to learn […]
By erik on February 27, 2018
So Alexa decided to laugh randomly while I was in the kitchen. Freaked @SnootyJuicer and I out. I thought a kid was laughing behind me. pic.twitter.com/6dblzkiQHp — CaptHandlebar (@CaptHandlebar) February 23, 2018 The latest story to catch the attention of the internet is one of creepy and unexpected laughter coming from Alexa-enabled devices. Videos like […]
By erik on January 28, 2018
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The quote is famous for a reason! Plenty of folks have come before you and made mistakes so that you don’t need to. Fortunately, Jonathan Bernstein has laid out a convenient list of the biggest mistakes in crisis communications. Learn them, know them, and avoid […]
By erik on November 20, 2017
Comms are falling flat? You could be missing one of these vital components. Today when you have a crisis you’re expected to talk about it. And, if you’re going to talk about it then you’d probably like people to believe you. Whether your communications come in the form of a press release, media interview, tweet, YouTube […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on November 27, 2016
Who should be a part, and what are their responsibilities? Local governments are responsible for a huge amount of crisis management. Think about it – how many moving pieces does even a smaller municipal area have to take care of, and how many are affected by even a small hiccup in operations? ICMA, a professional […]
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.[Read more ...]
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.
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