Perhaps President Kennedy said it best when he noted that “when written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. ”In this issue of Perspectives, Ketchum issues-and-crisis counselors dissect several of the notable crises of 2006.

A crisis, of course, can take many forms, and that was true in 2006 as the biggest misfortunes around the world encompassed corporate gaffes and scandal, food-safety fears and celebrity calamities, among other issues. From their analyses, I think you will find that each carried with it the seeds of opportunity. And undoubtedly, they will serve as fodder for future textbook chapters and books. 2007, too, will bring its share of crises. For it seems that, like death and taxes, you can count on the certainly of a crisis arising somewhere.

As Ketchum Senior Vice President Chris Nelson notes, we at Ketchum often say that a company facing a crisis of confidence must respond with “the appropriate overreaction,” bridging the gap as quickly as possible between expectations and the reality of the crisis. This is one way to help restore trust in the organization. And in today’s high-speed world of communication and information dissemination, it is more essential than ever to rebuild trust and deliver on company promises as efficiently as ever.

As always, please e-mail me at ray.kotcher@ketchum.com with your comments on this issue.

Best regards,Learn More >> (PDF version of Ketchum's I&C Monitor)

Ray Kotcher
Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Ketchum