| Preface | xi |
| Chapter 1 | |
| Crisis management and The Crisis Counselor | 1 |
| Quick evaluation: How does crisis management apply to your business? | 1 |
| How do you define a business crisis? | 3 |
| What are some examples of crises that could strike any business? | 3 |
| What is the likely impact of a crisis? | 10 |
| What is "The Crisis Counselor mindset"? | 16 |
| How can a business thrive from a crisis? | 24 |
| What are the most important aspects of crisis management? | 27 |
| How do I determine whether my company is vulnerable to a crisis? | 38 |
| Tips to consider | 39 |
| Chapter 2 | |
| Where could your business get tripped up? | 41 |
| Quick evaluation: How vulnerable is your business to a crisis? | 41 |
| How do crises typically occur? | 43 |
| Is it possible to recognize warning signs in advance? | 47 |
| What are the best ways to determine vulnerabilities in my business? | 53 |
| How would we conduct a vulnerabilities analysis in my organization? | 55 |
| How often should we conduct a vulnerabilities analysis? | 77 |
| Tips to consider | 78 |
| Chapter 3 | |
| Preventing crises in your business | 81 |
| Quick evaluation: Will a preventive approach work at my business? | 81 |
| How can businesses prevent crises from occurring? | 83 |
| How do warning signs turn into crises? | 89 |
| What can be done to prevent potential crises from becoming real ones? | 94 |
| Tips to consider | 97 |
| Chapter 4 | |
| How to plan for a crisis | 99 |
| Quick evaluation: Has my business planned sufficiently for a crisis? | 99 |
| What is meant by planning for a crisis? | 101 |
| What is the best way to plan for a crisis? | 107 |
| What is a crisis management team? | 109 |
| What is a crisis-management plan? | 114 |
| What is crisis-simulation training? | 120 |
| What is media training? | 125 |
| What written materials can be developed in advance of a crisis? | 129 |
| What's the best way to get others to buy into the idea of crisis planning? | 131 |
| Tips to consider | 133 |
| Chapter 5 | |
| The crisis itself | 135 |
| Quick evaluation: What is there to know about a crisis? | 135 |
| How will our business know when a crisis has occurred? | 137 |
| Are some crises more difficult to manage than others? | 142 |
| What stages typically occur over the life of a crisis? | 142 |
| What is typically the objective during a crisis? | 146 |
| What should be our strategy in a crisis? | 146 |
| Tips to consider | 149 |
| Chapter 6 | |
| What should we say and do? | 151 |
| Quick evaluation: How do you know what to say and do during a crisis? | 151 |
| How communicative should we be in a crisis? | 154 |
| What are some general tips for communicating during a crisis? | 157 |
| What do we do if we get contradictory advice? | 163 |
| Communicating with employees | 165 |
| Communicating with customers | 181 |
| Communicating with the news media | 191 |
| Who should be our company spokesperson in a crisis? | 203 |
| What sort of training should we consider for our spokespersons? | 208 |
| What are some techniques reporters may use to trick someone? | 210 |
| How do we know if we are successful in our communications with the media? | 214 |
| How do we increase the opportunity to receive fair treatment by the media? | 216 |
| Communicating with other publics | 220 |
| Tips to consider | 226 |
| Chapter 7 | |
| Monitoring, evaluating and making adjustments | 229 |
| Quick evaluation: How will we know whether or not we are successfully managing our crisis? | 229 |
| How will we know when our problem should still be considered a crisis? | 231 |
| What do you mean by monitoring and evaluating a crisis? | 232 |
| What reports can we generate to senior management regarding the process? | 238 |
| In what ways might we consider adjusting our management of the crisis? | 241 |
| When is it okay to stop monitoring and evaluating the crisis? | 245 |
| How do you know when the crisis has ended? | 246 |
| Tips to consider | 248 |
| Chapter 8 | |
| Insulating your business | 249 |
| Quick evaluation: Do other ways exist for companies to protect themselves in a crisis? | 249 |
| What type of insulation does a business need? | 251 |
| What are the best ways to help insulate a business? | 253 |
| What are some ways to establish and maintain a crisis-management culture? | 253 |
| How can a business establish and maintain high levels of goodwill? | 254 |
| How can conducting an ongoing PR program help insulate a business? | 258 |
| What are public relations objectives? | 262 |
| What is meant by strategy for targeting specific publics? | 263 |
| What are some examples of public relations tactics? | 264 |
| What else can help insulate our company from the damaging effects of a crisis? | 266 |
| Tips to consider | 268 |
| Chapter 9 | |
| Putting it all together | 271 |
| What are the most important points covered in The Crisis Counselor? | 271 |
| How can I get others to appreciate the importance of crisis management? | 273 |
| Glossary | 275 |
| Index | 278 |