A crisis is an opportunity

A company can have its values on its website, on the noticeboard, at company team-building events — but the truth comes out in the moments when a lot is at stake.

A crisis tests your values. Crisis communication tests your abilities and gives you the chance to show what kind of company you are. Responsible, professional, human. Or not.

A crisis puts you on stage, under the spotlights. You can run away. You can burst into tears up there. Or you can give a perfect performance — and, just as with dancers, preparation helps.

A well-handled crisis can improve a company’s reputation. The company gets the chance to show its qualities at the moment it has the public’s attention.

That does not mean the company has to be flawless. A crisis often reveals that something did not work, that someone made a mistake, or that the company simply was not prepared for the situation. But these are exactly the moments when a company’s values come into play. When it becomes clear whether you wrote your Manifesto just for effect on the website.

The difference lies in what you do next, when the crisis comes. When something has failed. When someone has failed.

Can you quickly take control of the situation? Will you tell the truth even when it is unpleasant? Will you admit a mistake when you have made one? Do you think first of the people affected by the problem? Can you apologise? And above all — can you solve the problem?

Reputation does not come from a company never having a problem. It also comes from how the company behaves when it has one.

When you cannot decide, ask yourself — what would a company I admire do?

And here a crisis has one peculiar quality. Things that under normal circumstances almost nobody would notice are suddenly watched by a great many people. A management decision, a single statement, the CEO’s appearance, the way the company treats its customers or employees.

And there is one more very special category of behaviour in a crisis. Are you capable of helping a competitor? Directly in resolving the crisis, or in communication, if that is possible and makes sense in the given context. Because that truly shows a company’s character. And sometimes it is in your own interest too. One player’s crisis can damage trust in an entire sector. You are also protecting the industry you do business in yourself. And then there is one more, entirely pragmatic reason. One day you may be the one in a crisis. And perhaps someone will remember how you behaved when they were in trouble.

There are many ways to come out of a crisis with a stronger reputation. It happens to great companies that were given the space to show who they are and what they believe in.