Crisis Defined
There are three elements common to most definitions of crisis: (a) there is a threat to the organization, (b) the threat has an element of surprise, and (c) there exists a short period of time to react.

Crisis Management is the process by which an organization deals with a major unpredictable event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. In contrast to risk management, which involves assessing potential threats and finding the best ways to avoid those threats, crisis management involves dealing with threats after they have occurred. It is a discipline, within the broader context of management, consisting of skills and techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that recovery procedures start.

Crisis Communication is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation quickly by understanding the audiences and targeting appropriate messages with the proper impact.  Checklists and preparation; drills and table top exercises can help one practice, but without the right mindset… a company’s crisis will escalate and potentially transform into an issue, and perhaps a legacy, that can impact your brand and reputation for years to come.  While a crisis can emerge in many forms and for many reasons – the key is being prepared… Not just on paper, but in mindset.

Challenge- An organization’s reputation is often its most valuable asset. When that reputation comes under attack, protecting and defending it becomes the highest priority.  Good crisis communication and management is the prevention of situations before they escalate to full-blown crises.  The practice of crisis communication and management is a predictive art, whereby one must make the correct assumptions and determine the appropriate courses of action within a very short period of time."

Service Offerings - We offer a comprehensive range of critical Crisis Management and Crisis Communications services, including:

Recommendation- Effectively responding to the challenges of a crisis requires more than the typical skills of the public relations professional, requiring instead experience at the highest levels of the field, such as investigative reporting, politics, and the Craft team.  We recommend that you get the right team involved…

Practice Leader- Kathleen McGrorty is the practice leader for Craft Strategies LLC’s Business Continuity and Strategic Planning Services.   She maintains a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) designation from Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII).