The last few weeks have borne two classic examples of why individuals and corporate should all have a plan for that bad day when their reputations like a set of dominoes will start collapsing despite their best efforts.
Locally we had the G4S losing millions of their client’s money. This is a company that has sold itself as the bastion of security for your premises, money in transit, vendor of security solutions, et al. Their armoured vehicles have a ubiquitous presence in Nairobi and around the country. Being an international company with British roots helped to solidify their credentials. All that solidity was shattered by three robberies that cost G4S more than the millions lost. Their reputation was shattered and suddenly they seemed so vulnerable. Creative and mischievous minds turned them into a butt of crude and heartless joke. G4S was now “Gone in 4 Seconds”, copies of tricked-up pictures of their guards holding multi-million cheques won in imaginary “Ponyoka na Pick-up” promotions started doing rounds on the internet.
After taking such a beating, they rushed to Gina Din Communications (www.ginadin.com ), a leading Nairobi PR firm that has a measure of success in crisis management having worked with Kenya Airways after the West Africa plane crashes. G4S further appointed a CEO for the East Africa Region as a means of re-assuring their clients. This was telling especially after a hint of internal discontent after the recent appointment of the first indigenous Kenyan MD for the Kenyan operation.
Away from Kenya, the last two weeks have seen Tiger Woods, the first athlete to earn a billion dollars going through a nightmare of sorts that he at first dismissed with a minor statement about being involved in a “one –vehicle accident”, but later admitted that, “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”
It all started when the US Weekly run a cover story to the effect that Tiger could be cheating on his wife. Tiger has managed to create a Mr. Clean image and hence attracted millions in commercial endorsements. The article triggered a tiff at the Tigers home which led to the said accident and the subsequent flood of close to ten women claiming to have had affairs with Tiger Woods. The women range from porn star Holly Sampson, to bar hostesses from around the US and world. There are rumors of Tiger buying the silence of some in an effort to keep them away from sharing with the world the sordid details of their trysts.
Meanwhile, the networks are in hot pursuit of an interview with the famously private Woods, whose carefully managed and no longer "squeaky clean" image is the real victim in this mess. The golfer is said to be mulling an offer to tell all there is to tell on Oprah's comfy couch about his so-called "transgressions." Crisis management experts say it's the best thing he could do. His initial stalling and treating the matter as a trivial one was not good. For instance Nick Allen notes in the Daily Telegraph that, “you cannot stonewall the internet and the 24-hour news channels. Everyone Twitters, everyone has a camera, and while Woods remains silent, wilder and wilder reports, some true others not, will fill the void he leaves". Reports that his mother-in-law has been hospitalized after fainting and his wife fleeing to a Swedish island near Stockholm just show that this saga has not peaked yet.
These two examples just go to show that no person or corporate is immune to a crisis once in a while. If it has not happened to you, it will happen soon. What is important is that you should have a plan and your plan should involve a very healthy dose of telling the whole truth and nothing else. You should also consult an image and reputation practitioner soonest possible. Publicists are not usually good at this; they are usually fair weather staff. During a crisis, you need discreet and honest professional help.
There is no image that is too solid.
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