Blog Line

One of the benefits of being an alumnus of Jospeh L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto is receiving their quarterly management magazine “Rotman”. The entire Spring issue is dedicated to risk - evaluating risk in making strategic decisions, the danger of not taking any risks, managing risk in complex financial transactions and the increasing risk for individuals and enterprises as organizations, economies and eco-systems become more integrated with rapid globalization. The issue is excellent and the topic fascinating. Roger Martin, Rotman’s Dean, argues in the article “Underestimating the Risk of Status Quo” that doing nothing or maintaining the status quo is a hugely risky venture. He believes that this is a particular danger for Canadian companies in a global economy.

Charles Fremes, CEO of Edelman’s Canadian operations passed away from a heart attack last evening. Word has spread quickly within the Canadian public relations community as he enjoyed a very high profile and successful career. Charles was 57, fit and a gentlemen who embraced life with a wink and a very dry sense of humour. I had the opportunity to be in Charles’ company several times and I always found the conversation very fun and eclectic. It was impossible to turn down a lunch invitation with such a jolly companion. One of his favourite haunts was the Kit Kat Club on King W. and his regular attendance could be judged by the waiter’s quick exchange of a paper napkin for a linen one and both would laugh.

Our sympathies go out to our Edelman Canada colleagues as well as his wife and daughter.

No, I am not a voyeur. The title of this post reflects some comments I made at a recent Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) seminar on crisis communications. My co-presenter was David Willis, of Media Profile. David is a great guy and made a solid presentation. We tag teamed somewhat in that David concentrated on traditional media and I attempted to address the impact of new media on traditional crisis comms. Obviously the biggest impact has been the contraction in time or the “five minute news cycle”. On that front blackberries or running a close second or vice versa with blogs. Basically, there are only a few questions to ask yourself, today. Is there a culture of quick response in your organization? Traditional organizations are used to dealing with traditional deadlines and longtime executives are trained to work within this established culture of responsiveness - particularly organizations that modeled on conventional hierachies. This leads to - Can you reach everyone required at any time? Specifically, if there were a crisis at 2 am could you reach your CEO, Executive Director - whatever the case may be? If you don’t know the answer to that question today, I would advise you to find out. This then leads to - Could you put up a blog or podcast within hours if you needed to? Find out the answer first thing. It is the same as having a flashlight, candles, and a first aid kit in case of a natural disaster.