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INCIDENT + PERCEPTION = REALITY
March 2018 will go down as a defining moment in reputation and crisis management.
It is also a defining moment in understanding perception, especially that of stakeholders and the public.
It is a key ingredient in managing a crisis, along with reputation. The Australian Cricket saga of ball tampering is a salient lesson for Australian companies, governments and organisations. Neglect, or mismanage perception and your reputation is in tatters!
Transforming to a new era in stakeholder engagement
Communication is transitioning to a ‘new era’ in service delivery efficiency and effectiveness today.
It is a ‘customer-centric’ service delivery; i.e. ‘providing the best possible customer experience (satisfaction) utilising the most efficient delivery model’. This means not only new technologies, but also a new approach to personal communication.
Innovative government today is committed to addressing this because of the rising expectations of citizens, increasing fiscal pressures and delivering technologies that enable these new ways of information management and communication.
Nature Abhors a Vacuum; So too the Community
Vacuums are good for many things – including boiling water at zero degrees. What they are terrible for is selling a message.
The now Prime Minister Turnbull came to the leadership of the nation in September last year, loosing the hounds of national expectation. Understandably he did nothing to dampen those expectations that had fairly, or otherwise, been hitched to his wagon.
Six months is a long-time in most things; even longer in politics.
Donald Trump-Man of the Year?
In 2006 the late, great Robin Williams starred in a Barry Levinson film called Man of the Year. The premise was that a political comedy/talk show host (think Jon Stewart) runs for President, as an outsider, and wins.
Levinson thought the possibility of this actually happening so slim that he wrote in a sub-plot of irregularities in a new electronic voting system that preferences candidates with double letters in their surname (Williams’ character was Tom Dobbs) to explain how the TV star turned a wave of populist appeal into an electoral college win.
The importance of being positive
This is not a piece about mindfulness. It’s a piece looking at the importance of delivering your message in a positive context.
Example one is Malcolm Turnbull.
Since being elected (by the Liberal Party) as Prime Minister on September the 15th this year the Australian mood has lightened a great deal. Why?
Is your data crisis plan in the clouds?
Australia’s ‘catch-up’ with the digital age highlights the power of information security to make or break your business plans today.
China’s recent cyber attack on the Bureau of Meteorology’s computers – although denied by China – is a timely reminder to all Australian businesses and governments that such actions can compromise sensitive systems across the whole public and private sectors.
Communication takes centre stage at last!
Australian politics delivered not only a new Prime Minister this week, but also a salient lesson in the value of communication.
The new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull – Mr. Explainer, as some media commentators call him – has brought the art of leadership communication back to life. Three word slogans are no longer the answer.
Danger Zone in Food Crisis Management
By Robert Masters
In an ironic twist, the theme of Australian Food Safety Week of late last year - The Danger Zone - could not have been more applicable in the last three months throughout Australia.
Wake-up call on crisis communication
Tues 16 Sept, 2014
By Robert Masters
Victorian business and government were delivered a wake-up call this month in crisis communication management and community engagement with the release of the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry report and recommendations.
The Inquiry, headed by former Supreme Court Judge Bernard Teague AO, who also headed the Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission, has virtually told all companies and government that international best practice should be the operating standard with their communication and community engagement plans.
Strategic communication - where's the Whiz, Bang, Pop?
Tues 16 Sept, 2014
By Angus Nicholls
You know that you have reached middle age when you are speaking about a state election that is still 3 months away.
Having since processed this sobering realisation, I began thinking about what the common theme was that had emerged in the conversations with my contemporaries about this upcoming poll. It was that “something was missing.”
This in turn took me back to 2004. At the time I was drafting policy documents for the Federal Government to take to the upcoming election. The consistent question that was put to me during the drafting process was, “Where’s the Whiz, Bang, Pop?”
Crisis Management: Three or four word problem in a crisis
By Robert Masters
There is a major problem for business today facing a crisis or issue in the public domain.
We are in the midst of a bubble that is now international, with the crisis with Malaysian Airlines disasters and the conflict in the Middle East.
If you do not master the three or four word principles of crisis or issues management you will flounder.
However, you have a very good case study in the Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s handling of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 tragedy, and all sectors could do no better than take a leaf out of his book.
Australian Politics: Raiders of the Lost Art
By Angus Nicholls
Our political system was established as an adversarial environment with the purpose of contesting ideas in a robust manner.
For the life of me however, I cannot recall one occasion in recent Australian Parliaments where this has actually happened.
It appears that the only instances of bipartisanship occur during times of tragedy and where there is only one course of action that should be adopted. This in itself is a tragedy for the functioning of our nation.
Grammarians take to song
By Robert Masters
We all accept that English is an evolving language; it has been doing so since Anglo Saxon times.
Academics and educationalists often say that as long as a person’s expression, or written word is understood, it is acceptable in today’s world.
The emergence of hip-hop lyrics is testimony to that, just as is some of the sporting sentences, let alone the pronunciation of many words.
Australia is ideally placed to supply a hungry market emerging to our north
Thurs 19 June, 2014
By Angus Nicholls
It is hard to believe that the consumer class emerging from Mumbai to Shanghai will reach 3 billion people by 2030. That is a lot of mouths to feed!
Australian governments across the board have identified primary producers as being exceptionally well placed to capitalise on this dynamic in the markets to our north. But what is the most valuable role that government can play from here on out?
Victorian Parliament: 18 days to clarity or nine to calamity
Thurs 19 June, 2014
By Robert Masters
The Victorian Parliament has 18 more sitting days before it is prorogued to end one of its most dysfunctional periods of government.
The last sitting day of October 16 will then see the government move into the mandatory six weeks purdah period before the designated election on November 29.
Three sitting weeks in June and August, or nine days, will be without the disruptive suspended independent member Geoff Shaw who has been principally the instigator of this dysfunctional period.
Risk management failure - climate of fear
Fri 9 May, 2014
By Robert Masters
A key element of the governance of any government, organisation or business today is its risk register. It should be the right hand tool for Ministers, CEOs, Chairpersons, Boards, Cabinets and Advisory Committees.
It is integral to the due diligence process and provides an overview of the degree of exposure, or ‘appetite for risk’ leaders are prepared to take with a policy, project, product, service or any new initiative.
Australia’s state elections and creating political momentum
Thurs 12 March, 2014
By Robert Masters
Victoria, and more immediately South Australia and Tasmania are now in ‘how to win election’ mode. Both SA and Tas go to the polls on 15 March.
Wins for the ‘blues’ are anticipated in both States this weekend, ending more than a decade of Labor reign in each jurisdiction.
Crisis planning is a ‘now’ thing
Thurs 12 March, 2014
By Robert Masters
The Malaysian Airlines disaster is another reminder of the need for sound crisis management planning.
The communities’ ‘need to know’ always puts to the test the effectiveness of a company’s crisis plan, its construction and its people in managing their roles and responsibilities.
Inaugural Global Judge Comments on Strategic Communication
Thur 5 Dec, 2013
Robert Masters was one of the international judges for the inaugural Global Alliance COMM PRIX Awards announced recently.
A Fellow and a former Chairman of the Public Relations Institute of Australia and its Golden Target Awards Committee, he was selected as one of the global judges because of his extensive industry experience, especially in issues and crisis management.
Issues management a necessity in reputation stakes
Fri 29 Nov, 2013
By Robert Masters
Business plans today are becoming littered with motherhood corporate reputation objectives that create an issues management nightmare for an organisation and its Board.
This is highlighted in the sporting sector with claims of putting the 'best team' on the pitch and in the corporate world with delivering 'shareholder value', or being a 'good corporate citizen'.
‘We’ thinking – the new driver in community engagement
Tues 29 Oct, 2013
By Robert Masters
Australia needs more than $874 billion worth of infrastructure to meet its economic growth.
Increasing pressure on grass roots communities is driving government to explain the impact this infrastructure will have on their lives.
The community engagement process has never been more important to get right the first time. However, there has been a paradigm shift in the engagement process.
Government Lobbying: ‘Who’, ‘How’ and ‘When’
Tues 24 Sept, 2013
By Robert Masters
One month after the Federal election, we are still waiting for the final result.
Although two seats still remain in contention – the House of Representatives seat of Fairfax in Brisbane, which Clive Palmer (the Palmer United Party – PUP) leads by a
margin of seven (7) votes and the Senate seat of Western Australia on which a recount was requested by Greens and Australian Sports Party.
Crisis Management - Spot & Stop Crises Before They Stop Your Business
Tues 27 Aug, 2013
By Robert Masters
Successful crisis management is more than just damage control. One of the critical features is the continual tracking of relevant issues and the ongoing management of an organization’s communication relationships.
Trying to do this when the crisis is in full swing is certainly leaving it too late.
Any organization with significant stakeholder and/or public exposure should have an issues management plan in place, enabling timely and efficient response, should a media crisis ensue.
'Off the Record' is On the Record
Tues 30 Jul, 2013
By Robert Masters
In today's society, the media needs large volumes of information faster than ever before. The growth of social media and online publications is pushing the traditional media to get this information, sometimes at any cost.
In this environment, 'off the record' comments can become an easy opportunity for competitive advantage. The truth is, 'off the record' is never really 'off the record'.
The New BOOM – What is Government’s role?
Tues 30 Jul, 2013
By Angus Nicholls
It is hard to believe that the consumer class emerging from Mumbai to Shanghai will reach 3 billion people by 2050. That is a lot of mouths to feed!
Australian governments across the board have identified the national food industry as being exceptionally well placed to capitalise on this dynamic in the markets to our north. But what is the most valuable role that government can play from here on out?