Tag Archives: Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon: The Video (poll)

All crisis management pros and enthusiasts should take the time to watch the 20 minute video by BP, entitled BP:  A Year of Change

Regardless of whether the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico turned you into a BP detractor, supporter or somewhere in-between, the video will likely spur some opinions, questions and debate.  Was producing this video a wise move by BP?  Does it put the crisis – and the crisis response – into context?  Does it misrepresent any of the events or actions?

I have offered my opinions on the Deepwater Horizon situation in the past and I certainly have my opinions on this video.  However, I’m more interested in generating dialogue and debate through this blog post. 

Please take the poll and use the comments section below to share your thoughts after watching the video.

 
 

 

Tourism Pro Questions on Crisis Management

Recently, I led a breakout session at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism.   My topic was “effective crisis management foundations” – a condensed version of a training program that we’ve built at Ketchum.  It’s our belief that you cannot have strong crisis management approaches, nor plans or systems, without the foundation of a strong crisis management leader.   SALES PITCH:  If you’re ever interested in learning more about this leadership training opportunity from Ketchum, drop me a line. 

During the Q&A session, the tourism pros asked questions that may yield lessons for others, so I’ve captured those here.  Disclaimer:  Everything below is paraphrased from memory, since I couldn’t take notes during the session. 

  

Q:   When an organization faces a determined critic, when should criticisms be ignored, and when is it time to address the critic? 

A:    This is difficult to answer specifically because so many factors need to be considered.  However, in general, begin by analyzing the critic…and the criticisms.  Is the critic credible to your audiences that matter?  Is the critic making an impact on your business?  How much traction might the critic or criticisms gain through social media?  Are the criticisms easy to defend, or do they require deeper explanation?  If the latter, is there a way to tell your side of the story in a compelling way?  These are just starter questions, of course – there are many more factors to consider before “getting down in the mud,” if required. 

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Preliminary lessons from the gulf oil spill

Provided by Deepwater Horizon Response's photostream (Flickr)

I don’t like to “rate” crisis responses as they’re unfolding, but I suppose you could glean lessons from the 4th inning of a baseball game when they’re evident.  Thus, I decided to join the opinionated crowd by responding to a question posed on a LinkedIn PR News Group discussion on “What are the top 3 crisis management lessons you’ve learned from the BP oil spill?”

Here are expansions from my short replies, with links that help round-out perspectives.

 

1) Companies that take great business risks must have a commensurate risk management system when things go ker-plewy.It’s easy to criticize BP, if you enjoy fishing out of a barrel.  BP is the designated “responsible party” among all responders of the Joint Incident Command, and as such, the lead butt to kick.  BP also has a history of mishaps and mammoth profits that make many uncomfortable.  Their executives have certainly made some blunders…even before the spill.  (Describing risk calculations in “three little pigs” terminology is colossally stupid, and the company’s oil spill response plans were based on unrealistic data.)

Of course, several parties were pushing limits to get oil out of the deep sea bed, without the equal attention to the safety net required in taking such risks.  Learning nothing from White Star, this was akin to not having enough lifeboats on the Titanic.  Those involved include BP, Transocean, Halliburton and the government’s formerly-named Minerals Management Service.  More analysis is required to untangle the blame.

Continue reading Preliminary lessons from the gulf oil spill

Crisis communications planning gets unfairly tarred by oil spill critic

On June 15, U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D – MI) issued a statement on “misplaced priorities” of oil companies in the wake of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  In it, he uses the ExxonMobil oil spill response plan to draw conclusions about oil industry lack of preparedness.  Stupak concludes that the plans are “great public relations….  But these plans are virtually worthless when an actual spill occurs.   And that’s exactly the kind of misplaced priorities that led to this disaster.”

In my opinion, Congressman Stupak’s conclusion is murky. 

Don’t get me wrong – history will eventually assign plenty of shared blame for the Deepwater Horizon situation.  The events leading up to the oil spill, the BP “responsible party” efforts to stop the leak, the ongoing and future clean-up work and the public relations responses all deserve to be scrutinized, heavily.  However, the Congressman’s buckshot against the oil industry hits crisis communications planning with collateral damage.  And that’s counterproductive.

Continue reading Crisis communications planning gets unfairly tarred by oil spill critic