finger in her food at a MegaBurger restaurant ?MegaBurger estimate that this situation cost them $2.5 million in lost sales.And the story of the finger was actually false!
So if the unthinkable happens to you and your company ,what do you do? How do you respond? Every organisation needs a crisis plan to enable it to handle a crisis quickly and effectively .The most important part of crisis management is preventing a crisis in the first place.Take a hard look at your company and examine potential problems. An experienced public relations professional will help you to create your Crisis Communications Plan .This contains four steps: First ,collect information about the situation –make sure you know the relevant facts.
Second ,appoint a Crisis Team-these people will be responsible for handling the crisis itself.
Third,appoint a spokesperson-this person will typically serve as the point of contact between your Crisis Team and the media .
Fourth,identify your key audiences-your customers ,employees,salespeople and the media .
If the worst should happen ,don?t panic .Take a deep breath and collect your Crisis Team .Examine the situation quickly and decide on the appropriate action,as well as message you want to send t your customers ,your emloyees ,and the public in general .
The most important actions in a crisis are :acting quickly to resolve the situation ,telling the truth ,being available for the press,showing confidence and compassion ,communicating changes in the situation as quickly as you can .
You?ve probably seen that when a customer experiences a problem and you resolve it for them quickly ,that customer becomes more loyal than they were before the problem .The same phenomenon is true in a crisis .Communicating quickly and effectively to your key audiences can actually strengthen your brand image in their eyes.
A Thank you ,Ellis .Thanks for listening ,podcasters.Don?t miss our talk next week,same day ,same time .
Module 10
10.1 Creativity and leadership
Good morning ,everyone .Today?s workshop will be in two sessions .In the second sessions of the workshop,you?ll be trying out some tasks which are specifically related to some of the most most common situations in today?s business environment-and I think you?ll see how they can help you to find creative solutions to everyday problems.We?ll move on to the second session of the workshop after the break .
But in the first session of the workshop I want to look at some very easy things which you can do-things which you can do without any real effort at all –which will help to open up your mind ,and make it easy for you to think in new ways .Scientists believe that doing activities to improve your memeory and making small changes to your daily routine can actually make you cleverer,more confident and better at making decisions.
I?m going to give you a list of ten activities ,and I want you to choose seven of them,which will give you a full week of activities .Then I want you to allocate one activity to each day of the week . Is that clear?
10.2 Creativity and leadership
So,let?s get on with the list ,then.As you can see ,number one is “have a shower”-nothing very
unusual there –but I want you to have a shower with your eyes closed .Yes ,try keeping your eyes closed while you?re having your shower And then number two-“brush your teeth”-you are going to do this with your other hand .So,if you are right-handed ,you change to your left hand ,and vice versa .Number three:you need to change your normal route to work and find a new way to get there.And at work ,you can do number four ,which is to choose some new words from a dictionary and use them in conversations .Number five on the list is something you can do in your lunch break or perhaps after work ,as it?s to go to a yoga or a meditation class.In fact ,I think there are some yoga and meditation groups here in this centre.The next two items are real brain exercises ;number six is to write your weekly shopping list and then memorise it and throw the paper away.And number seven is to do the Sudoku or ,if you prefer ,the crossword puzzle in your daily newspaper.Do you buy a daily paper?No?Well, I?m sure you can borrow one from a colleague!Or perhaps from someone you don?t know-because item number eight is to talk to a stranger .So there you have a perfect opportunity to do that.And that brings us to our last two items on the list-both of them are to do with keeping your body heathy,because that?s an important thing to remember.When we are tired or ill,our brains just don?t work as well as usual,do they?It?s difficult to be creative and innovative when we?ve got flu,isn?t it?So,item nine ,eat fish ,like tuna or salmon ,for your main meal .And finally,number ten is simple :no caffeine and no alcohol.
OK,that?s the list of ten activities.Now you decide which seven you will do and which days you will do them on.Next week we?ll see how…
10.3 What?s still to do?
B Tracey,can you bring me up-to-date on how the Dublin Enterprise conference is going?
T Yes,everything is going well and there are only a few things to be finalised.The theme,as you know ,is starting up and networking for small businesses,and we are aiming it at local business people.
B So ,it?s basically an opportunity for businesses to get together and see what they can offer each other.
T Yes,that?s one way of looking at it. We?re hoping that it will strengthen the connections between local entrepreneurs,and help to create develop new ventures. B Have we confirmed the data as May the 4th?
T Yes,the datas are confirmed ,but actually it?s May the 3rd and 4th.It?s a two-day event,running continuously from half past nine until half past five both days . B And it?s at the City Conference Centre again?
T Yes,everything is booked there .We?ve got the main room and four smaller rooms. B Do we have a copy of the programme ready to go to print?
T Well,that?s one of the things which I mentioned which still needs to be finalised.All the workshop leaders are in place ,but we have a slight problem with the keynote speaker.Our original speaker has cancelled and we are still in the process of choosing an alternative speaker. B I wonder,do we really need a speaker at an event like this?
T I think we do. It provides a focus to a the whole two days,and last year?s talk was a huge success.
B So,that needs to be finalised as soon as possible,doesn?t it?
T Yes,it?s the first thing on my list for after this meeting,don?t worry! B OK,what else?
T Well,again sticking with things which worked well last year.we?re doing online enrolment via the website,and the event is being promoted on our website and all our associate websites,as well as in the press.
B Are we repeating the lunch ?We had that Michelin chef last time ,didn?t we?
T No,I think that was for the Marketing Week,wasn?t it?We?re using the Conference Centre facilities,and providing hot and cold snacks all through the day.
B Well,it sounds as if it?s all under control.Shall we leave it there for now?
T Actually,there was one last point.We?re having some problems with the budget.The Conference Centre fees have gone up quite a lot since last year and that means we?re having to try and make cuts in other areas. I?ll have to ask Michelle to look at the figures again…
10.4 The conference budget
M I still think we?re going to be over budget.
T Let?s see where the main problems are…It?s the Conference Centre fees that are the problem .The main conference room is