The first hour of a bad morning

Most of our reputation work happens before anything goes wrong: the audit, the holding statements, the training. But every so often the phone rings at six in the morning, and then it is all about the next hour.

Minute zero: find out what is true

Before anyone writes anything, we need the facts, and only the facts we can confirm. What happened, when, who was affected and what has already been done. We write them down in a shared document in short sentences. Anything we are not sure of goes in a separate list.

Minute fifteen: agree who speaks

One person speaks for the company, and everyone else knows it. Usually it is the founder or the most senior person who understands the problem. We brief them on the three things they must say and the one thing they must not guess at.

Minute thirty: say something

A short, honest holding statement beats a perfect one at noon. It says what happened, that you are on it, and when you will say more. We send it to the reporter who called first, then publish it where customers will look for it.

Minute forty five: tell the people affected

Customers should never read about a problem in the press before they hear it from you. We write the email with the same facts as the statement, in plainer words, and send it before the story runs if we can.

Minute sixty: plan the next update

Then we set a time for the next update and keep it, even if there is nothing new to say. Silence is what turns one story into five.