MARCH 20 2025
Crisis Communications & the Bear rule: know when to lay down
Crisis communication is a bit like encountering a bear in the wild. Get your response process wrong, and things escalate; fast. Get it right, and you live to tell the tale (with your reputation intact).And just like bears, crises come in different breeds:
If the bear is brown, lay down!
If the crisis is big, powerful, and unavoidable, resist the urge to fight back immediately. Analyze, understand, take a beat, acknowledge the issue, and foster your strategy. Show you’re in control, not in panic mode. Assess the risk before engaging, or you may end up making a mountain out of a molehill.
If it is black, fight back!
Take charge of the narrative. Swift, confident messaging with clear leadership can stop the situation from escalating.
If it's white? Does that mean goodnight? Not necessarily!
Some crises might be absolute disasters. Fortunately, crisis communication experts, litigation specialists, and lawyers have seen it all. Think existential…and get help.
Some "crises" are more noise than threat.
In a crisis, knowing which bear you’re dealing with makes all the difference. Misread the situation, and you’re dinner. But play it right, and you emerge as the master of your domain. Scared perhaps, but stronger.
Author: Pascale Kauffman
