A Differentiator

When faced with crises, one of the first and most prevalent questions
executives ask themselves is “what should I do?” 

Many crisis communications professionals have a stock bank of answers including the crisis communications pre-plan, emergency meeting of managers, checklists, public relations firm on standby, etc. Often companies or their executives turn to prominent law firms that have a multitude of resident or contract expertise.

I would not discount any of these but in my experience I discovered that usually one individual was most helpful in the midst of a crushing problem. In my case, it was the use of a mentor that was provided for me by my parent organization—a third party not in my company but with vast experience in dealing with similar kinds of issues having been there before and done that. In nearly every major challenge I faced, I found great value in having someone to bounce ideas off of and get cogent advice. It was exactly what I needed to get unfrozen and moving in the right direction fast. This person — and there were more than one as I dealt with a number of challenges — became a differentiator, someone I could confide in, who maintained my confidentialty, and who made a positive difference.

At first it was hard to accept this third party since I was the executive in charge—the person responsible and accountable for what happened and what came next. I did not want others to see I was using some outsider to help figure out the solution to our problem. Besides, how could an outsider know more about my business and my problem than me or one of my colleagues? And being in charge meant I was the one who was expected to come up with the answers. The potential jealousies were an unfounded concern I later learned.

I subsequently learned what a ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ meant for former presidents and had even observed this in practice. What I also learned was how practical it was to have a differentiator available when things got really tough. The number of challenges I faced as a senior military commander and the value added of this individual made me feel that I would like to give back this gained expertise if given the chance.

Added to this experience I gained was also the processes in dealing with crises that make the difference between success and failure or getting out in front of the problem or chasing it—just look at the recent oil spill fiasco. Since retiring from the military and taking stock of my passions, my interests and seeing opportunity, I have turned to making this my life’s work. I want to give back some of the good that I benefited from. It is extremely rewarding and goes far beyond what I would expect to have and do in the corporate structure.

The real challenge in this field is two-fold:

1)  When does an executive realize he needs a differentiator and how does he find one that works for him or her—call it the right chemistry; and...

2)  How does someone with this skill set network exposure to those in need?

I have come to a conclusion that, as in most everything in life, networking among people is key but I also appreciate and admire the firms that put ‘A-Teams’ together for a client’s use. One-stop shopping for legal, public relations, advocacy (lobbying), and crisis management advisors is a superb resource worthy for any company, corporation or executive facing undaunting and time-sensitive crises. Having a team with this array of expertise will often differentiate outcomes by any metric be they financial, reputation, or even survival.

I appreciated having access to a differentiator—someone who had been there and done it before and possessed the experience and processes to create opportunity out of challenges—to create success out of crisis.