Crisis Communication: 5 Steps for Damage Control

By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications, writing for The Wisconsin Lawyer: Attorney Andy Phillips, like many folks, looks back a bit wistfully at the “good old days.” “I wish it was back in the day where I could go home at 6 o’clock and sit down with the paper for a half hour,” says Phillips, whose […]

How Your COVID-19 Communications Can Prepare Your Company to Talk About Any Crisis

By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications It may feel like ages ago now, but think back to when you first began to deal with how the COVID-19 pandemic would affect your business. You scrambled an internal team to communicate minute-by-minute changes  about how the business would adapt. How your employees should work at home. How they […]

How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence

From the Harvard Business Review: Women make up more than half of the labor force in the United States and earn almost 60 percent of advanced degrees, yet they bring home less pay and fill fewer seats in the C-suite than men, particularly in male-dominated professions like finance and technology. This gender gap is due […]

Board Leadership and Performance in a Crisis

From the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: Every industry across the globe has faced a crisis at some point in time. While most large companies survive, many struggle for years following a period of severe adversity. Others prevail and become stronger than before. How companies address crises has changed over time, as has […]

3 Keys to a Successful Virtual Presentation

Rob Biesenbach, in CommPro, writes: Virtual presentations have always been hard. Audiences are restless, distracted and can easily tune out since no one’s watching them.  But doing a virtual presentation from home is even harder — both presenters and audiences are dealing with isolation, disruptions and limited technology.  So if you want to make a […]

Returning to the Classroom: How to Communicate Your District’s Plan to Reopen

By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications School districts across the county are about to turn the page on an historic chapter in American history.  Students spent almost a third of the school year going to class at the kitchen table.  Teachers learned to become adept purveyors of distance-learning.  Parents quickly became tutors and taskmasters while balancing […]

Leadership in Action – Dr. Amy Acton, Director of Ohio’s Department of Health

By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Dr. Amy Acton is Director of the Ohio Department of Health.  As such, she stands side-by-side with Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine for the daily 2:00 briefing on COVID-19.  Unlike so many politicians that bob, weave, waffle or try to simply command authority and obedience, Dr. Acton speaks of vulnerability and […]

Crisis Prep 101 for Attorneys

From Sterling Miller: As in-house counsel, you can sum up your priorities in two categories: “Maximize Value Creation” (e.g., M&A) and “Minimize Value Destruction” (e.g., defending “bet the company” litigation). Pretty much all legal work you or the department do will fall under the above. A “crisis” situation falls under potential value destruction and can […]

Leading in a Crisis: How to Successfully Communicate

From Government Technology: The current pandemic has provided many examples of effective and not-so-effective communications strategies. Here are four pitfalls to avoid, and five proven strategies to keep the public informed and engaged. WHY ‘MEANING-MAKING’ MATTERS In every crisis, it is essential that government and public-sector leaders provide a compelling story. A good crisis narrative […]

Risk Management Experts Discuss the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impacts on Risk Management, Resilience and Business Continuity

From ContinuityCentral.com: In an interview-style article, experts from the Institute of Operational Risk and Institute of Risk Management discuss COVID-19 and how the risk management profession is reacting. Participants: Carolyn Williams, CMIRM, Director of Corporate Relations, Institute of Risk Management and Dr Jimi Hinchliffe, SIRM, Chairman, England and Wales Chapter Institute of Operational Risk. Question: Is the coronavirus likely […]