Crisis-Ready Startups: Building Resilience for Leaders

Navigating Crisis Communication in a Disruptive Landscape

The past year has presented significant challenges for businesses. Events like ransomware attacks, power outages, cloud downtime, and supply-chain disruptions have underscored the critical need for effective communication with customers and stakeholders when issues arise.

However, delivering accurate and timely information is increasingly difficult. The rapid spread of incomplete data and misinformation often outpaces official announcements.

A Roundtable on the Future of Crisis Communications

Recognizing these complexities, a panel of experts was assembled to discuss the evolving landscape of crisis communications, particularly for startups, technology companies, and businesses generally.

The conversation focused on strategies for building organizational resilience, addressing the increasing decentralization within the technology sector, and prioritizing crisis management.

Expert Participants

The following individuals contributed their insights:

• Admiral Thad Allen, formerly commandant of the Coast Guard, served as commander of the Atlantic coast during the 9/11 attacks. He also led federal responses to Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• Ana Visneski, previously an officer and chief of media for the Coast Guard, where she collaborated with Admiral Allen on establishing its initial digital presence, currently holds the position of senior director of communications and community at H20.ai. She was also a global principal of disaster communications for Amazon Web Services.
• John Visneski serves as the chief information security officer (CISO) at Accolade, having previously held the role of director of information security at The Pokémon Company. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force with ten years of service, he also functioned as chief of executive communications, and is the brother of Ana Visneski.

This transcript has been modified for brevity and enhanced clarity.

Preparing an Organization for Crisis

Danny Crichton: Considering your extensive experience in disaster communications, what are the most crucial lessons you’ve gleaned from the field?

Admiral Thad Allen: Effective communications and skilled communicators cannot compensate for a fundamentally flawed organization. There are inherent limitations to what can be achieved without a solid foundation. This is a vital point, as I’ve observed numerous attempts to communicate solutions to intractable problems.

A significant shift occurred between the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Katrina predated the widespread use of Twitter and Facebook, while Deepwater occurred afterward. Previously, efforts were largely confined within organizational boundaries.

Allow me to illustrate with a historical example. The intervention in Somalia around 1993 marked the first instance of CNN broadcasting live footage of personnel disembarking from amphibious vehicles. This fundamentally altered the landscape. Every operation now unfolds with the public as an integral component – a part of the environment and a determinant of the outcomes. Failure to acknowledge this reality invites failure.

The proliferation of cell phones means anyone can become a participant in your operational sphere. Consider the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by a bystander’s cell phone recording of George Floyd’s death. Had that recording not existed, the situation might have evolved differently. This raises the question of how we interpret this feedback loop.

John Visneski: Typically, organizational hierarchies aren’t structured for optimal crisis management. They prioritize consensus-building, budgetary considerations, and long-term planning. This holds true in both military and private sector contexts. Consequently, situational leadership is often absent, and clear lines of authority during a crisis are lacking.

In recent incidents, individuals in positions similar to mine haven’t adequately explained the technical details in a manner accessible to their organization, hindering effective communication to the public.

Ana Visneski: This aligns with the “theory of excellence” in crisis communications, which emphasizes the necessity of transparency and a well-defined system established *before* a crisis occurs. However, this is rarely the case.

For instance, the 2017 S3 outage for AWS prompted me to initiate crisis communications for them. Discovering the absence of a pre-existing plan, I developed a critical event protocol modeled after the Incident Command System (ICS) used by federal agencies. This protocol essentially functioned as a “red button,” immediately convening a call to determine leadership and coordinate response efforts.

Admiral Thad Allen: Let me share a relevant anecdote. While attending the Sloan School at MIT in December 1988, we visited numerous CEOs in New York. During a discussion with the CEO of Exxon, [Lawrence G. Rawl], I inquired about their preparedness for an incident comparable to Bhopal. He dedicated 20 minutes detailing their comprehensive communications plan. Yet, four months later, the Exxon Valdez ran aground, and their plan proved ineffective.

John Visneski: A written plan is only as effective as the frequency and realism of its practice. The military excels at pre-event drills, tabletop exercises, and “red team” simulations designed to challenge assumptions.

Admiral Thad Allen: I’ve worked with several large organizations facing significant challenges. The common default response, when unprepared, is to rely on subject matter experts to dictate organizational action. This is counterproductive. A designated leader is needed to ensure unity of effort, involving the C-suite, stakeholders, and the entire supply chain.

Ana Visneski: Consistent training is paramount, but even having a plan is a critical first step. Many large companies operate in silos, leading to duplicated efforts and conflicting actions during a crisis. Redundancy and backup systems are essential.

Consider scenarios like: What if your primary spokesperson *is* the incident? Or what if an earthquake disables your C-suite? John can elaborate, but the “last mile” of crisis communications – reliably transmitting information from the field to a central broadcast point – presents another significant hurdle.

Admiral Thad Allen: When I was mobilized for Katrina, I was en route to the airport. My final action was instructing my son to purchase a mobile handheld device and a SiriusXM receiver at Best Buy, ensuring situational awareness. This proved to be the most impactful decision I made.

John Visneski: A major challenge is securing adequate resources. Companies must proactively allocate funds for planning, infrastructure development, and establishing hot-swap data centers. Justifying this investment as a “rainy day fund” can be difficult, often facing resistance from boards or CFOs.

Therefore, organizational leadership, particularly those involved in disaster response, must proactively demonstrate how preparedness protects revenue.

Ana Visneski: The pandemic has forced a reckoning. Over the past two years, we’ve experienced a continuous stream of crises, prompting more C-suite leaders to prioritize preparedness for future events.

Navigating Communication in a Decentralized Workplace

Danny Crichton observes a significant shift in company structure over the past two decades. Previously, organizations typically featured centralized headquarters and hierarchical leadership. Currently, many companies are embracing decentralization and a more horizontal operational model. This evolution raises questions about its impact on communication during times of crisis.

Ana Visneski highlights the challenges of coordinating personnel in a decentralized environment. Maintaining consistent messaging across a dispersed workforce can be exceptionally difficult. It’s crucial to establish communication redundancies, considering potential disruptions like outages of platforms such as Slack.

Rather than restricting employee social media use, Ms. Visneski advocates for comprehensive training. Empowering employees to communicate responsibly fosters transparency and trust. Clear company policies should address unacceptable behavior – such as sharing confidential information or spreading misinformation – with appropriate consequences.

Admiral Thad Allen emphasizes the power of transparency. His guiding principle as commandant was that openly sharing information encourages self-correction. When individuals have access to comprehensive data, they internalize organizational goals and are more likely to act appropriately without needing direct orders.

The military utilizes a “common operating picture,” a shared display of personnel locations and activities. This isn’t a directive, but rather a contextual tool that provides visibility and understanding. It’s a means of fostering awareness, not enforcing authority.

Admiral Allen suggests prioritizing the creation of a common operating picture, which can reduce the need for direct authoritative intervention. Separating context from command is key to effective decentralized communication.

John Visneski, with offices in Seattle, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, and Prague, notes his organization benefited from its existing digital infrastructure. Having already undergone a digital transformation, they were well-equipped with tools like cloud services, SaaS applications, Slack, email, and Signal for seamless communication.

However, Mr. Visneski acknowledges that many organizations haven’t completed this digital transition. He recalls that even a temporary email outage at the Pentagon could severely disrupt operations.

Admiral Thad Allen adds the potential loss of GPS functionality to the list of potential communication disruptions.

John Visneski points out that effective disaster communication strategies are not universally applicable. The optimal approach varies depending on an organization’s pre-pandemic architecture, current infrastructure, and investments in future-proofing. Solutions will differ for companies like Accolade, Facebook, Bank of America, and others.

Ana Visneski cautions against assuming universal access to technology, particularly within the United States. While the tech industry often takes digital tools for granted, it’s important to remember that not everyone has access to advanced devices globally.

Ms. Visneski stresses the importance of remembering older technologies like radio, which can remain reliable during disasters. While embracing innovation is valuable, it’s crucial not to overlook established methods that continue to function effectively.

Navigating the Modern Landscape of Organizational Crises

Danny Crichton initiated a discussion concerning the increasing variety of crises impacting organizations today. While an oil spill, like the Exxon Valdez incident of 1989, allows for pre-defined response plans, the scope of potential disruptions has dramatically broadened.

Recent events, encompassing a global pandemic, power grid failures in Texas, Californian wildfires, droughts affecting TSMC in Taiwan, and both internal and external protests, alongside cyberattacks like ransomware and bitcoin thefts, demonstrate this expanded threat landscape.

This raises a crucial question: can a single set of crisis management tools effectively address all challenges? Or do distinct crisis types necessitate tailored responses, and how can organizations discern the appropriate approach?

The Predictability of Unpredictability

Admiral Allen’s Perspective

Admiral Thad Allen, drawing from his experience teaching crisis leadership at George Washington University, illustrated the challenge of anticipating the unimaginable. He presented a thought experiment to his students, asking them to envision the most catastrophic event requiring presidential notification.

He then simulated a presidential briefing, detailing the immediate response – communication protocols, regular updates, and cabinet advisement – without revealing the specific event. James Carville’s observation highlighted a fundamental truth: certain responses are universally applicable, regardless of the crisis’s nature.

Building a Flexible Response System

Ana Visneski emphasized the effectiveness of adapting the Incident Command System (ICS) for corporate environments. Its inherent flexibility, with designated leaders for communications, logistics, and security, allows it to scale up or down as needed.

While “black swan” events remain unpredictable, a robust core response system, designed to address a wide range of hazards, can be established. The key is to anticipate complexity and acknowledge that plans will inevitably deviate from expectations.

The Breakdown of Traditional Frameworks

Admiral Thad Allen underscored that complex situations often render existing standard operating procedures, legal frameworks, and governance structures ineffective. These must be replaced with alternative approaches to manage the unfolding crisis.

ICS, coupled with appropriate doctrine, can provide a 50-60% solution, offering initial direction while allowing for adaptation and refinement as the situation evolves.

Abstracting Technology from Crisis Plans

John Visneski highlighted the importance of abstracting technology from crisis plans. Organizations should focus on communication methods at a higher level, avoiding reliance on specific technologies.

Assuming consistent access to cell towers, power grids, or current data transmission methods is a critical error. The unforeseen 40% of unplanned events will quickly invalidate plans predicated on these assumptions.

The Human Element in Crisis Response

Ana Visneski pointed out the tech industry’s over-reliance on technology, often hindering its ability to envision scenarios without it. Effective crisis communication and disaster response ultimately depend on the people involved.

Plans should prioritize people and organizational structure, utilizing technology as a supplementary tool. Including specific platforms like Twitter in a crisis plan is short-sighted, as technology evolves rapidly and may become obsolete before the plan is needed.

Therefore, a people-first approach, with technology serving as an enabler, is crucial for successful crisis management.

Elevating Crisis Preparedness Above Routine Business Metrics

Danny Crichton: It’s clear that enhancing crisis communication skills is vital for all organizations. However, with individuals focused on achieving quarterly targets, how can crisis management – a potentially low-probability, high-impact issue – be prioritized effectively?

John Visneski: For both B2B and B2C enterprises, a strong starting point lies in adhering to compliance obligations. Customer agreements, particularly those concerning data security and privacy, frequently mandate the existence of a business continuity plan, a disaster recovery strategy, and an incident response protocol.

Ideally, these contracts should stipulate annual reviews and updates of these plans. Leveraging these existing compliance needs is the initial step, as they directly impact revenue streams.

The subsequent challenge, as many in the cybersecurity field recognize, is moving beyond mere compliance. Having a documented plan and reporting its exercise doesn’t guarantee thorough employee training. Increased investment in employee education is crucial.

Admiral Thad Allen: My recommendation to large corporations is to capitalize on existing regulatory requirements. If a plan is already mandated, why not allocate additional resources to enhance it, building upon the natural cycle of required updates?

Ana Visneski: Focus on the financial implications. A comprehensive crisis plan may require an initial investment – for example, $200,000 for system setup. However, the potential cost of a disaster, which could cripple a company or result in millions of dollars in losses, far outweighs this expense.

The return on investment is substantial. Recent events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have heightened leadership awareness that no organization is immune to crises. Proactive planning saves money in the long run, requiring only annual updates and ongoing training.

John Visneski: It’s widely understood that a lack of preparedness can lead to significant financial losses when adverse events occur. However, a shift is occurring in consumer awareness regarding privacy.

Simply stating the potential consequences of inaction is no longer sufficient. Organizations can now differentiate themselves by actively demonstrating their commitment to data protection and their robust plans for responding to complex situations. This can be a powerful marketing advantage.

Ana Visneski: Ultimately, without trust in the technology and confidence in responsible practices, any response to a crisis will be ineffective. A lack of trust equates to irrelevance.