By
Tony Nicholls
Founder and Director – Good Talent Media
Good Talent Media has been a member of My Business since August 2020.
There are four factors creating instability around the world now and which show no signs of abating in the foreseeable future. They are in fact worsening.
The four factors
The first is pandemics like COVID-19, which is only the most recent manifestation of a coronavirus. The other recent examples being Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Epidemics like these have the possibility to occur with increasing frequency in our globally connected and urbanised world, as we’ve seen with the spread of COVID-19.
The second is climate change. The projection is that within 50 years a third of the world will face Sahara Desert-like heat.
The third is the political instability growing out of the first two factors, not to mention the instability that comes from new powers like China and India rising while American power wanes. This has the potential to lead to the disruption of global trade and political instability.
And finally, the deepening of the digital age which is creating 24/7 and 360-degree interrogation of organisations by activists, competitors and citizen journalists.
What can businesses do to prepare?
Brands and organisations that take decades to build can be pulled apart very quickly in this environment. Consequently, organisational capacity to deal with crisis will be one of the major defining features of survival in the new crisis-ridden world.
Crisis media preparation will be the new insurance for businesses and organisations. It’s an essential service now and trying to run an organisation without it will be like a transport company sending their fleet onto the streets without coverage.
Crisis media enquiries are spiking off the back of a disastrous start to 2020 but if people think we’re going to be living with any sort of repose or certainty in the next five decades and beyond is sticking their head in the sand.
I’m someone that’s optimistic by nature, but I’m also a realist. Crisis media is about understanding where the traps are so that you can go about your core business with confidence.
An organisation can take decades to build but on the back of, say, a campaign to boycott certain products, to end trade relations with a nation, or a faux-pas by a senior figure, it can come crumbling down overnight.
Businesses should have the ability to identify potential threats, establish a crisis media team, introduce pre-emptive protocols, business continuity plans, prepare holding statements and manage the media in the event of a crisis.
Tony Nicholls
Founder and Strategic Partner – Good Talent Media
Tony is an accomplished journalist with more than ten years’ experience with the ABC, SBS and Network Ten covering thousands of news stories across Victoria, Australia and the international media.
