I promise this isn’t a schadenfreude thing, but I love crisis communications.
Crises come out of nowhere and completely interrupt your day, but I love it. I’ve drafted statements and responded to reporters while I’ve been in my office, in airports, on planes, in cabs, on my phone when I was out for dinner for my birthday (true story), in bed when I was sick… and the list goes on. Accepting the fact that qué será será has helped me transition from considering it a nuisance to loving the challenge it presents.
I know, it’s crazy. But hear me out.
No two crises are alike.
While there are usually commonalities, no two situations are exactly the same. That’s a huge part of why I studied journalism during undergrad and, later, why I got into PR. I knew early on I wanted the ability to do something different every day. And crises certainly add “spice” (if you want to call it that) to my routine.
Crises challenge me.
No matter how many issues I deal with, these still challenge me to think. It’s about balancing the desire to have the brand’s voice heard with protecting the brand, while not pointing fingers or making excuses. You also need to be a quick thinker and time management whiz to be able to drop everything and divert your attention to a crisis at a moment’s notice.
There’s no right answer…
… only the answer that seems to be the best solution at that particular time given the information you have available. I used to like algebra because “x” always equaled something and everyone — if they solved the equation correctly — came up with the same answer. But that’s boring. I like having to pull on all the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years to strategize and figure out the best possible answer.
It’s teamwork at its best.
Crisis management involves people in PR, operations, legal, quality assurance, franchise development, etc. It’s like a brain trust, which we typically call the crisis response team. (I like brain trust better, though.) And it’s one of those rare occurrences where you need a cross-functional team to figure this stuff out. There’s no single person who’s responsible. It’s truly a team effort.
