You’d have thought that, over the years, the number of high profile businesses that have had to contend with public relations ‘disasters’ would send a pretty clear and unequivocal message to others – ‘be prepared’.
Other such pearls of wisdom include “hope for the best, plan for the worst,” a line uttered by the fictional head of the CIA in the hit movie “The Bourne Ultimatum.”
In the case of the most topical, BP, the exit of its CEO, Tony Hayward, goes to prove how quickly and publicly, a succession of PR blunders can affect a business. Of course, the issues faced by the company are immense but the lack of public perception that it remained in control of the situation, through the comments of the most senior executive, has only served to exacerbate its predicament.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10360084
Perhaps even more famously was the case of Gerald Ratner, who in the early 1990s, made a joke in an after-dinner speech at The Institute of Directors, which caused his jewellery empire to crumble virtually overnight.
Even today, the phrase “doing a Ratner” is used as a case study by crisis management consultants. In those days, the internet was barely known, so it may well be that this mantle will be passed on with “doing a Hayward” in years to come.
What both these examples show is the responsibility of the person at the top when it comes to making public statements and dealing with the media. In most cases, poor PR comes as a direct result of poor judgement on the part of an individual, not necessarily the company itself.
Even the most seasoned PR professionals cannot legislate for an ‘off the cuff’ remark by the boss. History shows that just a couple of words can spark a corporate crisis.
So whether it’s a speech, a presentation or even an informal meeting – those in the limelight need to mind their ‘Ps and Qs’. You never know who might be listening.
