Communicating When A Crisis Strikes

Written by Robert F. Abbott


How would you handle communication if your business or practice got into a crisis situation?

I was pleasantly surprised when my Internet service provider responded competently and quickly to a technical crisis. And, we can learn to communicate more effectively by studying its response.

The crisis occurred when hackers attacked its system atrepparttar same time thatrepparttar 143504 company was upgrading its systems to meet increased customer demand. And while customers experienced no dramatic shutdowns, some customers faced delays and difficulty getting online.

In response,repparttar 143505 company quickly sent out a newsletter containing a single article, an open letter fromrepparttar 143506 president.

First,repparttar 143507 president acknowledged there had been a problem. And,repparttar 143508 company took responsibility forrepparttar 143509 problem. While it attributed at least some ofrepparttar 143510 problems to malicious hackers, it nonetheless took responsibility forrepparttar 143511 system's integrity.

Most of us find it refreshing when a company steps up and does those two things. It communicates self-confidence and it communicates sincere concern for customers. All too often, organizations make poor excuses or point fingers at suppliers and customers; that just makes customers more dissatisfied.

Second,repparttar 143512 company apologized. Inrepparttar 143513 first sentence ofrepparttar 143514 article,repparttar 143515 president said he was sorry for disruptions that subscribers had experienced overrepparttar 143516 preceding two weeks.

By doing that he allowed his readers to get throughrepparttar 143517 rest ofrepparttar 143518 letter with less resistance. They weren't mentally concocting rebuttals - they were reading what he had to say. That's crucial any time you want to make an important point.

Mission and Vision Statements - Foundational to Successful Change

Written by Don Midgett


Successful leaders and organizations are vision driven rather than problem driven. Some management tools fail to affect any change; but here is one that will, if properly implemented.

Mission and Vision Statements have been crafted by organizations for years. The attention to mission and vision is warranted, as studies indicate that organizations that have Mission and Vision Statements quite simply outperform those that do not.

Here are a few varied snapshots fromrepparttar e-book Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path To A Successful Business Future to showrepparttar 143241 difference these statements can make in your business and life: •A family-owned inn had operated for three generations without turning a profit. The business covered basic expenses, but extra money was always scarce. Within one year of creating a mission and vision statement,repparttar 143242 inn reaped a profit of more than half a million dollars. •The public works organization for a city benefited fromrepparttar 143243 use of mission and vision statements and applying them. “It helped me to get a real team sense and feel for our Department” says a Public Works Director of his mission and vision journey. “I also had more credibility withrepparttar 143244 team. I was able to make it work so that it benefitedrepparttar 143245 employees, so they felt good about their position. It helped give me more credibility withrepparttar 143246 people I worked with and more cooperation from them – a great win-win situation.” •A director for a non-profit organization describes how this approach helped him sort outrepparttar 143247 questions to answer. He says “To see within merepparttar 143248 themes repeating themselves caused me to really focus on what I am about. I found that “catchy” words lostrepparttar 143249 heart of it. Because ofrepparttar 143250 process I soon formedrepparttar 143251 language and passion ofrepparttar 143252 true meaning of what was deep within me.” Asrepparttar 143253 organization continued to align their Mission and Vision Statements with strategic activities and actions, they got results. They increased in size by 50% and many more satellite organizations resulted, all sharing a common mission and continuing to userepparttar 143254 process to refine and reflect their shared vision forrepparttar 143255 future.

The CEO of a financial services company recently went throughrepparttar 143256 e-book exercises to develop their mission and vision statements and he says “our company has benefited greatly sincerepparttar 143257 inception ofrepparttar 143258 mission statement. Every company, family, couple or individual should have one.

Then why is it that in some organizations these statements do little more than signify a loss commensurate withrepparttar 143259 costs: books purchased, speakers and consultants hired, and seminars held. Well, when expectations are not met, these statements are seen as being a waste of time and money and an organization continues to function as it always has.

This scenario plays out too often. Mission and Vision Statements are not solutions – they are tools that must be used by willing and capable managers and supervisors. These tools fail to live up to expectations often because of a lack of upper management commitment. Where Mission and Vision Statements have succeeded there is top to bottom unequivocal support – it is required.

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