Lukaszewski on Crisis Communication: What Your CEO Needs to Know about Reputation Risk and Crisis Management

by James E. Lukaszewski, Kristen Noakes-Fry (Editor)

Designed for CEOs, boards, and senior executives in HR, risk management, and emergency response management. Jim Lukaszewski was listed in Corporate Legal Times as one of 28 Experts to Call When All Hell Breaks Loose and in PR Week as one of 22 crunch-time counselors who should be on the speed dial in a crisis. THE book on crisis communication, aggregating Jim s four decades of crisis communication wisdom in a format easy to commit to memory - ready to use when, and hopefully before, you face a crisis. Jim's common-sense, field-tested approach helps guide executives in how to behave, what to say and do, and how to lead their organizations through a crisis situation especially during those first critical minutes. His book fills the holes left by most crises texts: it explains how to manage victims, manage management, energize attorneys to cooperate and participate in the crises response process, and understand, and therefore reduce, the influence of the media (both traditional and social), activists, and antagonists. He focuses on a key element rarely dealt with in crisis management how NOT to create victims (who may publicly complain and sue), by managing people with compassion, fairness and honesty. In a crisis, Jim recommends 5 approaches: be positive; be compassionate; be transparent; apologize sincerely and with meaning; and settle quickly. These simple tenets are the most complex to execute because they run counter to many management cultures. He shares a bounty of practical tools, tips, charts, checklists, forms, and templates, e.g., since he advises you to make all your statements positive, Jim lists scores of positive words and phrases; categorizes numerous crises by risk; lists the causes of victimization; and describes media behavior/attitudes and details the social and digital media tactics to manage them. And, since a recent study shows that only 60% of the companies surveyed had a crisis management plan, Jim offers ammunition to motivate management to prepare for crises.

422 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

I'm James E. Lukaszewski (loo-ka-SHEV-skee), an expert in managing and counteracting tough, touchy, sensitive corporate communications issues. I counsel companies facing serious internal and external problems. I'm frequently retained by senior management to directly intervene and manage the resolution of corporate problems and bad news. The situations I help resolve often involve conflict, controversy, community action or activist opposition. The fastest growing portion of my practice involves civil and criminal litigation.

I'm an author (several books, more than 130 articles) and a member of the editorial board for Ragan's Public Relations Journal, a contributing editor to Public Relations Quarterly, a contributing columnist to pr reporter and PR News, a member of InfoCom's Media Relations Insider editorial advisory board, and was the first crisis columnist for the PRSA's member publication, PR Tactics. I'm an internationally recognized speaker on crisis communications management, ethics, media relations, public affairs, and reputation preservation and restoration.

An accredited member of the International Association of Business Communicators (ABC) and the Public Relations Society of America (APR), I'm a member of the PRSA's College of Fellows (Fellow PRSA); Board of Ethics & Professional Standards. I'm recognized by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics as a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP). I served as a crisis communications advisor to the International Disaster Advisory Committee, Agency for International Development, Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance from 1989 to 1992, and is a civilian advisor to several other federal agencies including the United States Marine Corps. I lecture annually at the U.S. Marine Corp's East Coast Commander's Media Training Symposium and was the second recipient of its Drew Middleton Award. I am the recipient of Ball State University's 2004 National Public Relations Achievement Award, the 2004 Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service to PRSA, the 2005 PR News Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2006 Lloyd B. Dennis Distinguished Leadership Award.

I received my BA in 1974 from Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. I'm a former deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Economic Development and assistant press secretary to former Minnesota Governor Wendell Anderson. I founded Minnesota-based Media Information Systems Corporation in 1978. Prior to founding The Lukaszewski Group Inc. in 1989 I was senior vice president and director of Executive Communication Programs for Georgeson & Company and a partner with Chester Burger Company, both in New York City. My name also appeared in Corporate Legal Times as one of '28 Experts to Call When All Hell Breaks Loose,' and in PR Week as one of 22 'crunch-time counselors who should be on the speed dial in a crisis.