The Crisisblogger is Gerald Baron. Like most in this business, I never set out to be involved in crisis management and crisis communications. Sometimes life is like that. But since the mid-90s I’ve been involved in many organization-threatening events. Those experiences led to the creation of the leading crisis communication technology– PIER (Public Information Emergency Response). PIER has been used to great effect in many large events including most recently the 2010 Gulf Spill. Those experiences also led to the publication by a leading international publisher of my book called “Now Is Too Late: Survival in an Era of Instant News” which was released in its second edition in 2006: “Now Is Too Late2.”
For about 28 years I was the head of a moderately sized marketing and public relations firm, Baron&Company. PIER Systems evolved out of that company in 2000 and in 2006 I became temporary CEO, turning the leadership of Baron&Company over to two of my associates, Jason Glover and Chris Bothel. In late 2009 O’Brien’s Response Management acquired PIER and I became EVP Communications for O’Brien’s, leading the company’s marketing and growing the media and communication services. As of January 1, 2011 I have returned to independent consulting as the principal of Agincourt Strategies, LLC. I am pleased to continue working with O’Brien’s and PIER as a Senior Advisor.
As a consultant, I focus on crisis preparation including dark site preparation, crisis communication planning, message mapping, training, drills and exercises and social media implementation and management.
If you think I might be able to help you, please do not hesitate to contact me at 360-303-9123 or email me at gerald.baron@agincourt.us.
More links about the blogger for those interested:
www.joemoserstory.com (In January 2009 a book I had been working on for 2 1/2 years was published: “A Fighter Pilot in Buchenwald: The Joe Moser Story.” It follows one American WWII fighter pilot, who is still alive and well, through his harrowing bail out, capture, two months of hell in the concentration camp, then as a POW including the German “Death March.” A story of quiet, simple courage and incredible strength and endurance.)
phone: 360-303-9123
Gerald, I’d love to know your take on the Delta Zeta sorority crisis. Technically a sorority is much more than a college organization, as the national groups often take point on major projects and charity missions.
Since the sense of exclusion has always been hanging pretty heavily over these institutions, I’d imagine that the other fraternal/sorority organizations would need to respond to the crisis, also.
Hi
Bye
Hi Ger
Been reading your writings. Don’t know if I’m doing this right.
Very interesting. Mom
Hi Mom–you are doing it right! Welcome to the blog world!
Hey everybody else–my mom is commenting on my blog! Pretty cool.
Big problem in Canada:
The Canadian Coast Guard seems not have understand what is a crisis and do exactly what we are not suppose to do…
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=b6f0fc8f-465b-4726-bb95-2f083a03cf29
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Gerald, I did a posting on your Crisis Blog at my blog, http://www.disaster-zone.com
I attended a session today on “The Death of News: How the e-world is Killing Traditional News Gathering Methods.” Jim Stanton did the session. Extremely well done. He hails from Vancouver, BC.
The conference I’m attending is the 18th World Conference on Disaster Management, beomg held in Toronto.
Hi Eric, good to hear Jim is getting around. He has been a partner of PIER for the past few years. He’s a great guy and right on target.
Just came upon your blogpost on the Quick Guide through a google search for the latest on communicating on the H1N1. Will share it with colleagues.
Congratulations Gerald. I’m sure you must be experiencing mixed emotions about parting with the company you nurtured for these many years.
Frank Mansell
Hi Gerald! At my suggestion and after review your blog has been added to the blog role at HLSWatch.com!
Thanks very much William–and keep those comments coming!
Hello
I’m teaching a class on crisis communications at a French business school – thanks for your blog. It’s really good – I was making a list of recent examples and I needed my memory jogged.
Do you feel that we’re living more and more in the present tense? That last month’s news might as well be from ten years ago? I know in your business public memory is a major factor – sometimes the public forgetting is helpful! But I mean our ability to hold “history” in our consciousness – and this change is so incremental that, speaking for myself, I might not even realize to what extent it’s happening to me, although I’m of an age to have spent alot of time as an adult pre-internet. But it’s true that a judgement on reputation sticks around even after the details fade.
Thanks again; You’re bookmarked (so I don’t forget!)
I think it is an interesting thought, about living more in the present. I do believe that the amount of “stuff” we have to deal with every day has increased significantly and there is only so much stuff our brains can handle. So in that sense I think you are right. And certainly from a public interest and news standpoint only what is happening now has much interest. At the same time, the Internet is a massive memory bank and those memories are not easily erased. Any young person looking for work now and remembering some of the stupid things they put on social media sites years ago may be quite aware of this. For crisis communications this instantly accessible memory also becomes very important because if you find yourself in the news one of the first thing reporters and those who wish you harm will do is look on the Internet for your past history. Safety violations, environmental issues, labor problems, social issues–all of those will quickly emerge and the story line will soon become: XYZ Company has a history of problems with…”
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I read your article about the future of YouTube and it is very interesting. I believe the vision they have for themselves and communications is easy to believe. Do you believe that the change to video from written crisis communication will cause disruption for companies with their social media plan?
Thanks for your comments about importance of key relationships during a crisis. In addition to my full-time job as a PR and crisis manager, I teach part-time at Quinnipiac University. Tonight’s class is on knowing your audience. Using your quote as the final slide.