公关危机中控制损失的10大军规

 

   两位曾经帮助美国前总统克林顿安然度过一系列危机的“灾难大师”最近出版了一本新书，帮助人们应对可能出现的公关危机。我们根据书中的内容，总结了控制损失的10大要诀。

 

 

危机无处不在。想一想最近几桩全国性丑闻的主角：通用汽车公司(General Motors)、克里斯•克里斯蒂和美国国家安全局(NSA)。企业每天都在遭受无数人为失误的困扰，比如“全部回复”灾难、产品缺陷、风流韵事等等。无论你遭遇的危机是大还是小，有两位作者都认为，他们能帮到你。克里斯托弗•勒翰和马克•法比亚尼被《新闻周刊》(Newsweek)发表于1996年的一篇人物特稿戏称为“灾难大师”，他们曾经为比尔•克林顿的总统大选活动立下汗马功劳，后来还帮助这位美国前总统安然度过弹劾危机。在最近与导演比尔•古登泰格合作撰写的一本平装书中，两位作者以公司高管为受众，重新总结了他们在政治危机管理中汲取的经验教训。《灾难大师：损失控制10大军规》(Masters of Disaster: The Ten Commandments of Damage Control)一书把他们的忠告提炼为10条规则。为方便读者记忆，我们反过来又把这些戒律进一步提炼为十大要点。别客气，拿走不谢。

Crisis is everywhere. There are the national public relations fiascos: General Motors, Chris Christie, the NSA. And then there are the countless human missteps that plague companies every day: The reply-all email gaffe, the product defect, the affair. Be your crises big or small, these authors think they can help. Christopher Lehane and Mark Fabiani were dubbed the "Masters of Disaster" in a 1996 Newsweek profile for their work with Bill Clinton's presidential campaign (they also ran interference after his impeachment). In a new paperback, co-authored with director Bill Guttentag, the authors repurpose their lessons in political crisis management for the C-suite. "Masters of Disaster: The Ten Commandments of Damage Control," distills their best advice into 10 rules. We've, in turn, distilled those commandments into a handful of words. You're welcome.

#1: 充分披露     把整个故事都讲出来。一次性讲出来，到此为止。否则的话，你就很有可能“被它彻底吞噬，”勒翰等人说。这项建议不仅准确，而且具有普适性。这方面的典型例证当属著名高尔夫球手老虎•伍兹。他的无数风流韵事在媒体上传播了几天后，他就高调亮相，和盘托出全部真相。面对丑闻，千万不要一声不吭，这样做非常尴尬。迅速且毫无保留的招供可以限制丑闻带来的伤害。顺便给你提个醒：如果不小心点击了“全部回复”，请即刻采取补救措施。     #2: 向核心受众说明原委     陷入危机的每个人都有各自的核心受众，即那些对你有杀伤力的人群。对于一位校长来说，核心受众是学生家长；于一位大学教练而言，它是受托管理委员会；于一家公司而言，它是股东和分析师。作者专门针对上市公司列举了一份10页的新闻稿，同时把它提炼为一份由3句话组成的致股东函，上面写道：“非常高兴地告知诸位，本公司已经彻彻底底地解决了此事。”消息刚一发布，公司股价就应声而涨。     #3:不要给传言加料     参见规则1。真相总有水落石出的一天，所以你应该迅速且完整地披露一切事实。作者写道，“你拖着不愿交底的时间越长，你陷入危机的时间就越长。”     #4: 细节至关重要     迅速行动，但不能太快。梅格•惠特曼2009年宣布竞选州长的时候，她被几个询问投票记录的细节问题搞得措手不及。“她还没有做好面对特写镜头的准备，”几位作者写道。她的竞选活动由此遭受重创。发布或披露重大消息前，最好先理顺一些看似微小的事实。

#1: Full disclosure     Put the whole story out. All at once. Full stop. Otherwise, risk "getting completely run over by it," say Lehane et al. This advice is as ubiquitous as it is accurate. The classic example is Tiger Woods, who let rumors of his affairs brew in the press for days until he came clean. Instead of the awkward nonresponse, a swift and complete confession would have limited the damage. Bonus tip: Respond immediately to that errant reply-all e-mail.     #2: Speak to your core audience     Everyone in crisis has a target audience -- usually the people with firing power. For a school superintendent it's parents, for a college coach it's the board of trustees, and for a corporation it's shareholders and analysts. For one public company, the authors took a 10-page press release and distilled it into a three-sentence missive for shareholders, saying, "The company is pleased to have put this matter behind it once and for all." The stock price went up on the news.     #3: Don't feed the fire     See rule number one. The truth will out eventually, so disclose everything fully and quickly. The authors write, "The longer it takes you to get to the bottom line, the longer you will be in crisis."     #4: Details matter     Move fast, but not too fast. Meg Whitman was caught off-guard for detailed questions about her voting record when she announced her bid for governor in 2009. "She was not ready for her close-up," the authors say. The result was a gut punch to the campaign. Get the small facts worked out before the big reveal or disclosure.

 

#5: 挺胸抬头     这条规则的代表人物是加文•纽森。这位陷入外遇丑闻的旧金山市市长对媒体说：“大家读到的一切报道都是真实的。”然后不失尊严地发表致歉声明，并且再也没有回应过此事。他披露了一切，抑制住了漫天飞舞的谣言，然后“极其克制地保持了沉默。”     #6: 坦率地说出你知道什么，不知道什么，你打算采取什么措施解决问题。     这条规则基本上是不言自明的。不要假装你什么都知道，听从专家的意见。所以，如果你是一家矿业公司的CEO，你的公司出现塌方事件，最好聘请地质学家出面解释，你自己不要在那里瞎猜结构力学的种种奥妙。     #7: 以压倒性的力量予以回应     几个行之有效的策略是：宣布组建一个委员会，启动内部调查，或者任命一位受人尊敬的专家，全面审查有问题的部门。同样重要的是，制定一个公司层面的应对策略，坚持下去。善于危机管理的公司往往会确保每一位面对公众的员工都能够自始至终地遵循统一的口径。     #8: 先入先出     尽量减少你在丑闻大戏中扮演的角色。假如你是一位被控使用类固醇的棒球运动员，先爽快地坦白，然后指责这项运动“松散的文化”，让公众知道你的丑闻背后还藏着更大的秘密。     #9: 不要无视居心不良的指控     2004年，一个名为“快艇老兵寻求真相”(Swiftboat Veterans for Truth)的组织质疑民主党总统候选人约翰•克里越战事迹的真实性。克里起初不愿回应这个明显带有政治目的的诽谤，直至这起事件对他的支持率造成了难以挽回的损害。通过这一案例，我们应该明白，迅速且有力地驳斥下流无耻的指控是多么重要。     #10: 揭穿对手的险恶动机     牢牢抓住对立一方有可能出现的任何失误或者前后矛盾的地方，削弱对方的信誉，改变事件的叙事走向。比如，指控你的人是否有政治动机？要让整个事情听起来就像是一个党派争斗的阴谋。     这本多达257页的著作为我们提供了大量应对危机的策略，以上这些经过删节的建议当然只是其中的一小部分。如果你真打算聆听“大师”的真知灼见，你最好还是买上一本，细细品读一番。（财富中文网）     译者：叶寒

#5: Hold your head high     The poster boy for this rule is Gavin Newsom who, facing reports of an affair, told the press, "everything you've read is true," gave a dignified apology, and didn't address it again. He revealed all, deflated speculation, and then "had the discipline to shut up."     #6: Be straight about what you know, what you don't know, and what you are going to do to fix the problem     This one is mostly self-explanatory. Instead of pretending to know it all, defer to experts. So, if you're a mining CEO and there's been a collapse, bring out the geologists rather than speculating on the mechanics yourself.     #7: Respond with overwhelming force     A few tried-and-true strategies: announce the formation of a commission, launch an internal review, or appoint a respected expert to overhaul the offending department. It's also important to have a company line and stick to it. Companies that are good at crisis management make sure every public-facing employee is relentlessly on-message.     #8: First in, first out     Minimize your role in the drama as much as possible. So, if you're a baseball player accused of steroid use, fess up, blame the sport's "loose culture," and make the story about something larger than yourself.     #9: Don't get Swiftboated     In 2004, John Kerry fell prey to the obviously politically motivated Swiftboat Veterans for Truth by refusing to dignify the smears with a response -- until the damage to his poll numbers was already done. It was a case study in the importance of refuting scurrilous accusations early and forcefully.     #10: They dissemble, you destroy     Seize on any errors or inconsistencies from the opposing side to undermine its credibility and change the narrative. For example, are your accusers politically motivated? Sounds like the whole thing might be a partisan plot.     This abridged advice is, of course, just a fraction of the wisdom offered in this smart, 257-page book. If you really want to learn from the "Masters," you can find it here.