No Margin for Error

In a crisis, you must “know,” not “hope.”

In World War II, a new phrase entered the lexicon: “Good enough for government work.” At the time, it was high praise: If you could meet the government’s rigorous standards, you could pass muster anywhere.

After the war, the meaning got turned on its head. It became a pejorative: Barely acceptable quality.

But the mantra for Crisis & Reputation Management has remained constant: No margin for error.

The stakes are enormous. Everything the client has achieved is on the line. A single misstep can send it all crashing down.

Hesitancy isn’t acceptable. Neither is guesswork or wishful thinking. Any of those would be slipshod. All would be disastrous.

Consider sweatshops. For decades, the issue has reared its head. Consumers expressed dismay, but it was always short-lived because they weren’t willing to forego bargain-basement prices for clothing and electronics.

Then came Bangladesh — the collapse of a massive garment factory into which worried workers were herded by bosses even after the building was declared unstable. More than 1,100 died. The enormity shocked the world.

It was no longer adequate to put Band-Aids on the problem. Manufacturers and retailers rushed to protect their reputations with consumers. H&M, the Swedish-based global retail giant, got several other big Western companies to sign a binding agreement to improve working and factory-safety conditions in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Wal-Mart and GAP are pursuing their own pledges.

This was damage control in its purest form. In Crisis & Reputation Management, the rules are simple:

First, you must act quickly to control the situation, or else it will control you.

Second, you must “know” what will happen, not “hope” it will work out. Is what you say or do crystal clear — or could it be misinterpreted? Is it credible? How will the media perceive it? The public?

Gillott Communications is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that specializes in high-stakes Crisis & Reputation Management with more than 50 years of expertise in strategic communications, corporate public relations, and working with the media.