How do you handle communication breakdowns or misunderstandings in a project?

Do: Immediately admit fault, take full accountability and show heartfelt remorse to your customer base via an emphatic public apology on camera, preferably live. Face the music and eat your humble pie, all of it. Don’t: Hide your head in the sand by—for example—posting a short and sterile written response that raises more questions than it answers…

Being transparent is critically important for any CEO to maintain trust with a company’s customer base, stockholders and stakeholders. The sad truth is that too many corporate titans — from Silicon Valley to Wall Street to Main Street — continue to purposely withhold important information from journalists and the public for frivolous or irrational reasons. Moreover, too many CEOs cover-up real or perceived malfeasance until someone finally blows the whistle in the media.

The question needs to be asked, "In an emergency or situation of this gravity, how would you like to be contacted". Know this, and have it agreed. When ?? hits the fan, the last thing you want to think about is how to communicate, or whom to communicate with internally. Instead, your focus needs to be on your next steps, and the actions you must take to resolve the situation.

While the STAR approach is helpful, I like to add CEO to STAR: -Culture reminder (each person is valued, even when facing a block) -Empowered teams speak up in support of one another -Observations of situations are not accusations. Then… STAR

The entire point of crisis communications is addressing PR problems head on with a rapid response. Get all the bad news out as quickly as possible by releasing all the damaging internal information possible?—?and all at one time, if possible. Admit mistakes and ask to be forgiven. Show remorse. Then, after fully acknowledging the controversy at hand, take full responsibility and pledge renewed accountability. Lastly, try to get ahead of the next news cycle by pivoting to some positive news, even if it’s a prior success that is ongoing to benefit the public. Highlight any efforts or initiatives promoting corporate social responsibility, for example. Articulate a new positive narrative supported by facts to balance out negative reporting.