Crisis Communication Plan Components and Models: Crisis Communication Management Readiness

by James E. Lukaszewski

Explore the tactical and strategic advice this volume offers to those who plan, respond, install, or evaluate crisis response plans. This book was designed to provide specific, immediately useable information, advice, models, and approaches to those engaged in any facet of crisis management and crisis communications management development response. It reflects the author’s philosophy that successful crisis response requires prompt, meaningfully specific, constructive, and ethical communication preceded by effective and positive executive action. Each of the book’s 10 jam-packed chapters addresses a crucial aspect of crisis and readiness response planning: · Key Concepts: Plan effectively, conducting internal investigations · Communications Priorities: Model crisis response strategy, developing a crisis Web site · Response Triggering: What to do first, choosing the response structure that fits your needs · Mobilizing Corporate Functions for Crisis Response; Coordinating With the Field · Victim Management: The most powerful tool crisis managers have with management · Senior Management Responsibility in Crisis: When to send the boss, what the boss should do · The Power of Scenarios: Seven sample scenarios, 52 hypothetical situations · First Response Flowcharts: Flowcharts as a strategic teaching and execution tool, four crucial models · Model Plan Outlines: Eight crisis plan structure outlines · Maintaining and Confirming Readiness: Keeping plans current/prevention, model crisis simulation plan This third volume in Jim Lukaszewski’s Executive Action Crisis Communication Management series is designed to help those who design crisis plans deal with the toughest, most difficult issues and challenges. It provides simple, sensible, constructive solutions to crisis plan development and the essential ingredients necessary to develop a powerful readiness approach, and is intentionally devoted to a variety of seemingly disconnected topics. Yet, each chapter adds a key ingredient that will improve the success of your planning process and response activity. This book addresses many important questions: 1. Where do we get the information to plan effectively for crisis situations? 2. What do crisis plans look like? 3. Are there different kinds of plan structures? 4. How do we identify the most likely scenarios? 5. What do we do first when a crisis occurs? 6. How do we organize our response process to be truly effective? 7. How can we productively engage management in the response effort? 8. Who should we send out to speak for the organization and under what circumstances? 9. What is best practice in notifying next-of-kin? 10. What steps should we take to keep our plan up-to-date? Crisis Communication Plan Components and Models is the most strategic tool available for crisis and readiness planning. It will help you create a workable crisis communication operations response process that prevents crises and manages exposure. While very different from the typical crisis instruction manual, it provides crucial strategic information in those key areas that will make your plan work. To put it another way, taking into consideration the key concepts described in this book will build your chances of success by enhancing your ability to be ready.

323 pages

Published May 1, 2005

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.