Whipping the Proverbial Whipping Boy

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers, LLC

Don't like the message? Punish the messenger. It may feel good, but the sense of relief is short-lived. In times of crisis, blame-shifting rarely pays off; yet, it keeps happening.

Tammy Darvish owns four Toyota dealerships and one Lexus dealership. Obviously, she has a lot riding on how Toyota has been mis-handling it cascading series of crises.

"I just think the media has sort of sensationalized something that's pretty natural in the manufacturing business," she says.

In other words, are we supposed to go into any new or used car purchase, or lease, with the assumption mechanical problems, and even a recall, are inevitable?

Or, "Is it natural to recall 8.5 million vehicles? Is it natural to recall or investigate 15 of 20 models?" Those questions posed by a clearly surprised Neil Cavuto during an interview on Fox News Channel's Your World.

Her response: "...just in the Detroit 3 (that, of course, being GM, Ford and Chrysler), there were 37 recalls just in the last 12 months..." So, in other words, if you think we've got some problems, check out our competition.

Ms. Darvish did not do the Toyota Co. any favors with this interview. While she may have intended to limit damage, she might have just made things worse. Instead of confronting the issues and facts honestly, Darvish's appearance was a feeble attempt at deflection and an effort to make what seems extraordinary ordinary. She may have thought she was providing perspective, but in reality she leaves a lasting impression that you should buy, or lease, a car at your own risk.

One more point, and it comes from an expert in customer loyalty marketing, rDialogue. In a blog post directed at business organizations and their management, it appears that Toyota has missed a critical element in their handling of this growing crisis: reaching out directly to their customers.

Avoid Minimizing Crisis Potential

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®

When part of one floor of a parking garage in Atlanta collapsed a couple of days ago, the first statement from the construction company that supervised its erection seven years earlier included a troubling paragraph:

“To put this incident in perspective there are 1415 spaces in this deck. One section was involved, and it is estimated that approximately 35 spaces were affected.”

At the time, it was hoped, but not yet absolutely determined, there were no deaths or injuries. Just one death would’ve been tragic, making this part of the statement quite ill-advised.

(Note: the above part of the statement was expunged from a follow up statement by the company president which is on the company’s home page.)

Hardin Construction Co., the lead contractor on the project that included two office buildings had suffered an earlier crisis on another project in which one worker died and eight others were critically injured.

An elevated sidewalk at Atlanta’s Botanical Gardens collapsed last December while under construction. If injuries or deaths were later discovered at the parking garage, the minimizing part of the first company statement would’ve been especially unfortunate in this case.

Lessons from a Crisis Past

TVA's Coal-Filled Christmas Stocking

by Eric Seidel, CEO

The Media Trainers®

“The prescription for remedying any disaster is to demonstrate empathy and to communicate those concerns from those at the top of the organization.”

Bull’s-eye! The above quote comes from the June 3, 2009 blog posting (“Thinking the Unthinkable”) by Ken Silverstein, editor-in-chief of EnergyBiz Insider. It’s an excellent piece on preparing for a crisis before one hits.

Silverstein focuses on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s huge spill of 5 million cubic yards of coal ash shortly before Christmas. A crisis that continues resonating.

Late last year, after observing the first hours and days of that unimaginable catastrophe, Executive Rewind evaluated TVA’s initial crisis response. It was our contention that management was virtually invisible and seemingly inaccessible during the Christmas weekend while residents who either lost their homes, or were surrounded and trapped by the oozing mass, or frightened that the spill was heavily tainted with toxins, were left during that weekend to pretty much fend for themselves. There were no deaths, fortunately, but fears were confirmed when water tests indicated elevated levels of deadly pollutants that killed hundreds of fish.

Also, we made the point that this spill and its handling could not have come at a worse time for the utility industry. The new Obama Administration was less than a month away from taking power along with a heavily Democratic Congress, both with a very sensitive ear honed in on the anti-coal forces in Washington. (Silverstein alluded to these facts, as well, in a May 11, 2009 post entitled “Pouring on Coal Waste.”)

I second the advice Ken Silverstein offers in his blog. And, while his area of expertise is in the energy and utility industries, the wisdom of what he says is applicable to any organization/business, whether large or small. Your good name and continued prosperity might just depend on it.