Communications is everywhere
Imagine you are the Senior VP of Events for the National Football League. Super Bowl XLVII, between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, is underway in the New Orleans Superdome. Suddenly, in the third quarter, the stadium suffers a partial power outage.
Frank Supovitz, author of “What To Do When Things Go Wrong: A Five-Step Guide to Planning for and Surviving the Inevitable”, spoke to my sport management class about this very situation. Because he lived it.
Supovitz served as the NFL’s Senior VP of Events from 2005–2014, overseeing operations for major annual events like the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft. He shared two lessons in particular that can be applied to public relations, specifically crisis management.
1. Panic paralyzes decision-making
Supovitz made one thing very clear: when something goes terribly wrong, you must do your best to fight your natural urge to panic. Especially if you’re in a leadership position, panic will help nothing and those who work for you will follow your lead. This lesson reminds me of the phrase “aviate, navigate and communicate.” One of my public relations professors, James Olson, shared this lesson with my class when discussing US Airways’ handling of Flight 1549’s emergency landing in the Hudson River. Pilots are taught to keep things simple when facing disaster: fly the plane (aviate), know where you’re flying (navigate) and tell others what’s going on (communicate).
In both cases, the key is to keep things simple and work one step at a time. Anything more may lead to panic, which will hamper your decision-making ability.
2. Response vs. Reaction
Supovitz discussed the difference between a response and reaction.
A response, according to Supovitz, is thoughtful and thorough. This requires preparation and teamwork. A reaction, on the other hand, is involuntary. It is oftentimes rushed and panicked, which will likely lead to minor details being ignored and the worsening of the problem at hand.
When faced with a crisis, you must strive to respond to it, not react. This starts before the event or crisis takes place. Preparation is essential, and the lack of it may result in you flying blind through decisive moments during which a lot is at stake.
As I prepare for a career in public relations, I will continue to study other industries and those at the top of them because lessons from many different fields can be applied to communications.
