Making meaningful messages in an age of constant crises

There is no shortage of outside catalysts for a corporate crisis these days, and the seemingly never-ending stream of crises creates a reactionary feeling that you likely know far too well. Even if there’s no internal change in your organization, your industry may inevitably take one side of a larger, controversial issue. Even if the brand reputation is intact, your employees are thinking and feeling humans whose identities and cultures inform their perspectives on national conversations around sensitive and politicized topics—race relations and affirmative action, reproductive rights and banned books, just to name a few.

How can you keep up with it all and communicate effectively in a world gone wrong?

Last fall, I had a thoughtful panel conversation about this very pain point with Bill Hankes, CCO of Forbes, Nicole Neal, VP and head of internal communications at Zurich North America, Ashley Bush, director of communications and giving back at Southwire and Dan Mazei, VP of communications at digital at Entain’s unikrn brand.

Here’s what they told me.

Planning ahead while staying nimble

In a time where it seems like there’s always a fresh hell to address, being proactive and not reactive is often easier said than done.