In his Crisis Guru Commentaries, Jim Lukaszewski provides real answers to real questions about your most critical communications problems and issues.

To submit a question, please direct it by e-mail to crisisguru@e911.com.  Be sure to include your full name, affiliation, address, and telephone number.  All published questions will be identified by title and industry only.  Your confidentiality will be protected.

Question:
 
Dear Crisis Guru:

Do crisis plans differ from industry to industry?  For example, should a healthcare company respond differently to a crisis than a media company?

Vice President
Full-Service International Consumer Firm

Answer:

Dear VP:

All successful crisis response plans are similar in the general order of response:
The major response differences relate to the crisis scenario types possible in different industries and organizations.  In just about every case those crises that are operating in nature are more easily handled than those that are non-operational, e.g., terrorism, workplace violence, criminal behavior, products, people, or actions that hurt, maim, or kill.

In every case, responses are generally based on preempting the negative event patterns we can expect, and working through the crisis scenarios as they apply to a specific business or organizational circumstance.

Cordially,

Jim Lukaszewski