Crisis Strikes: Who to Call
FACT VS FICTION: Are you at risk?
Leah Fertig Joins Fallston Group as Executive Assistant
Fallston Group, the Baltimore-based, global reputation agency, is pleased to announce Leah Fertig has joined its team as executive assistant. Fertig brings more than 13 years of combined customer service, administrative and office management experience to Fallston Group’s headquarters in Canton. In her new role, Fertig provides support across the organization’s three core business verticals of crisis and issue leadership, strategic marketing and public relations and safety and security. Her goal is to ensure all clients receive the “Ritz Carlton” experience. “Leah is a highly motivated, results-oriented professional. In our line of work, both companies and individuals heavily rely on us to be a trustworthy, compassionate resource, and Leah plays an important role in solidifying our many important relationships,” says Fallston Group Chief Executive, Rob Weinhold. Prior to joining Fallston Group, Fertig worked in the medical field and auto industry, where she became adept at managing in a high volume, fast-paced environment. She always remained focused on over-delivering for customers while implementing processes to ensure service was top notch. Fertig’s drive to find opportunities to assist others led her to becoming a volunteer for the Loch Raven VA Community Living & Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore, MD. Fertig is also a strong supporter in our country’s military and believes we all have a role in supporting our troops. Born and raised in Maryland, Fertig is passionate about her community and developing meaningful relationships. At Fallston Group, this passion translates into supporting the business’ three verticals and developing high-performing, win-win business relationships across the country. For additional information about Fertig or Fallston Group’s services, contact Marketing Communications Manager Andrea Lynn at 410.420.2001 or by email at andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com.
Build Your Social Champions
Some of your biggest champions during a crisis may end up being your social media followers…but waiting to build those ambassadors until crisis strikes means you’re too late to capitalize on this important communications outlet. Check out our video for some quick tips, and contact us at https://fallstongroup.com/contact-us/ or call 410-420-2001 for more information.
Immunize Yourself Against Anxiety and Excessive Stress
By George S. Everly, Jr. Ph.D., ABPP. Originally posted via Psychology Today Psychologically speaking, the most significant factors that will keep you from realizing the happiness and success to which you aspire are anxiety and excessive stress. Both of these contribute significantly to depression, as well. Over 44 years of clinical practice and university teaching, I’ve heard people say time and time again, “I’m an anxious person, I was born that way.” Or they might say I don’t do well under stress.” Or perhaps they say, “I get psyched out really easily.” Indeed social anxiety inhibits your ability to make friends and engage with other people. Performance anxiety inhibits your ability to perform academically and athletically. Stage fright can cripple performers. Here is the good news…“You are not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better.” – Daniel Amen, TEDxTalks – Oct. 16, 2013. While Dr. Amen’s statement sounds like hyperbole, there is actually considerable evidence that, not only is he correct but, you may be able to cultivate some degree of “immunity” from excessive stress. Think of it as a form of “psychological body armor.” Neural pathways in your brain are malleable. Research has shown that your brain is highly responsive to both environmental stimuli, as well as your thoughts and emotions (Volkow, 2010). This phenomenon is referred to as neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity allows the brain to create functional neurological pathways and networks, as well as to reorganize previously existing pathways and networks in order to create the neurologic infrastructure for virtually every aspect of human behavior. This has important implications not only for adult learning, but also for our understanding of stress and anxiety and how to better manage them. TUNING OF THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEMS A musical instrument can be tuned sharp and over-responsive. It can also be tuned down to be less reactive. So too can your nervous systems be “tuned.” Based upon elegant research investigations in the 1960s, the brilliant physiologist Ernst Gellhorn concluded that, based upon one’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences, the human nervous systems are capable of being “tuned” so as to be irritable, hypersensitive, and over responsive. This is especially true for the sympathetic nervous system responsible for the “fight or flight” response. This hyper-sensitization he called “ergotropic tuning.” So the more negative thoughts you have, the more negative experiences you have, the more negative emotions you experience, and the more you worry about things, the more likely you are to actually train your brain to experience stress and anxiety reactions with less and less provocation. He cogently argued that such hypersensitivity was the foundation for the development of crippling anxiety and a host of psychological and physical stress-related disorders. But the good news is that Gellhorn also concluded that your nervous systems could be desensitized. This he called “trophotropic tuning.” It suggests that we should have a far more optimistic view of what we once thought were intractable stress and anxiety disorders, even if you think you were “born that way.” If neural patterns of excessive stress can be acquired, they can be altered and more positive functional neurologic pathways can replace them. More specifically, it suggests that highly sensitized mechanisms causing anxiety and stress may be effectively desensitized. The only question is “How?” Psychologically speaking, the most significant factors that will keep you from realizing the happiness and success to which you aspire are anxiety and excessive stress. Both of these contribute significantly to depression, as well. Over 44 years of clinical practice and university teaching, I’ve heard people say time and time again, “I’m an anxious person, I was born that way.” Or they might say I don’t do well under stress.” Or perhaps they say, “I get psyched out really easily.” Indeed social anxiety inhibits your ability to make friends and engage with other people. Performance anxiety inhibits your ability to perform academically and athletically. Stage fright can cripple performers. Here is the good news…“You are not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better.” – Daniel Amen, TEDxTalks – Oct. 16, 2013. While Dr. Amen’s statement sounds like hyperbole, there is actually considerable evidence that, not only is he correct but, you may be able to cultivate some degree of “immunity” from excessive stress. Think of it as a form of “psychological body armor.” Neural pathways in your brain are malleable. Research has shown that your brain is highly responsive to both environmental stimuli, as well as your thoughts and emotions (Volkow, 2010). This phenomenon is referred to as neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity allows the brain to create functional neurological pathways and networks, as well as to reorganize previously existing pathways and networks in order to create the neurologic infrastructure for virtually every aspect of human behavior. This has important implications not only for adult learning, but also for our understanding of stress and anxiety and how to better manage them. TUNING OF THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEMS A musical instrument can be tuned sharp and over-responsive. It can also be tuned down to be less reactive. So too can your nervous systems be “tuned.” Based upon elegant research investigations in the 1960s, the brilliant physiologist Ernst Gellhorn concluded that, based upon one’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences, the human nervous systems are capable of being “tuned” so as to be irritable, hypersensitive, and over responsive. This is especially true for the sympathetic nervous system responsible for the “fight or flight” response. This hyper-sensitization he called “ergotropic tuning.” So the more negative thoughts you have, the more negative experiences you have, the more negative emotions you experience, and the more you worry about things, the more likely you are to actually train your brain to experience stress and anxiety reactions with less and less provocation. He cogently argued that such hypersensitivity was the foundation for the development of crippling anxiety and a host of psychological and physical stress-related disorders. But the good news is that Gellhorn also concluded that your nervous systems could be desensitized. This he called “trophotropic tuning.” It suggests that we should have a far more optimistic view of what we once thought were intractable stress and anxiety disorders, even if you think you
What’s the “Why” Behind a Crisis?
Many crises are sustained campaigns, not situational media events. In my view, reputation leads to trust and trust leads to valuation. You see, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is all about the restoration of trust and restoring that reputational piggy bank balance which succumbed to overdraft status. We know crises can be natural, like an earthquake, or human-induced, like an egregious crime or gross mismanagement. Crises can be sudden or smoldering, high-impact or low-impact. Sometimes organizations recover. Many times, they do not. Crises can take on many forms: data breach, social media attack, negative press, natural disaster, bankruptcy, crime, litigation, investigation, compliance issues, employee relations complications, job loss, labor unrest, audit sanction, poorly managed mergers, workplace violence, terrorism, war, riots, accidents, health issues, product recall, hostile takeovers, abuse, ineffective leadership transition, and discrimination—to name some of the prominent. Life is a complex struggle at times, with a seemingly high level of unpredictability. But one thing is certain: crisis will strike. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. In recent years alone, many high profile leaders have faced serious reputational issues that have cost them tremendous amounts of time, money, customers and, ultimately, their careers – generally in that order. And, in the worst case of scenarios, lives. In my decades of managing crisis—the overwhelming number which are human induced—I’ve found premeditated crises are deeply rooted in the issues of power, control, money, sex and revenge. Yes, these are the core motivating factors of why people do bad things. Some are driven by a singular vice, others are firing on many motivating cylinders. As wonderful as the human spirit is, there is often another side to some of us, a side in which these dark, addictive triggers become more important than life itself. And sadly, it’s generally those who orbit the lives of those in crisis—and depend on the afflicted people or organizations emotionally, financially or spiritually—who suffer the most when crisis unravels. Life lesson for today – closely evaluate who you have in your ecosystem, personally and professionally. Are the people you inherently trust with your business or reputation motivated by any of the core factors outlined above? Are they really making the right decisions for you, your business, your brand? Take a hard look at “why” these people make the decisions, or act, the way they do. You just may find that YOU need to make some tough eliminating choices as you work your way toward a more brilliant and prosperous future. To learn more about building, strengthening and defending your company’s reputation, please contact us directly at Fallston Group, or call 410-420-2001.
Today’s “The Day”
By Patrick Seidl, Strategic Communications Coordinator Today’s the day that you’ve been working so hard toward for months. It’s the day of your biggest fundraising or other business event. You’ve spent hours marketing your event beforehand – from e-blasts, to scheduled social media content and submission of your pre-event press releases – you’ve done everything right. You’ve even achieved your ticket sales goal. Hooray! Your catering order and bar selection were confirmed far in advance and you’re positive that there’s something for everyone. You’re excited. You’ve neatly packed away all your event supplies in clearly marked bins. Your name tags have been stuffed into their clear plastic holders and they’ve been alphabetized to ensure they’re easy to find. You’ve got everything covered! Mr. & Mrs. Jones arrive 45 minutes early, but the rest of your guests arrive right on time. They’re not waiting too long in line, things are going smoothly, and everyone is in high spirits. “This is going really well,” you say to yourself as you run across the room to make sure your VIP guests have everything they need. “Almost perfect,” in fact! Your cocktail hour ends, your guests are ushered to their seats and your programming goes off without a hitch. Your speakers stuck to their dedicated four minutes of air time and your chicken Chesapeake arrived piping hot. People are truly enjoying themselves. Dinner ends, and before you know it the event is over. All your hard work came to fruition. You’re so happy, and exhausted! Then it hits you. Despite your greatest intent of posting to your company’s social media accounts throughout the event – from pictures of your top sponsors to your elegant and thoughtfully planned tablescape – you simply forgot… and you know it’s too late now. Face palm. In today’s marketing world, utilizing social media is critical – especially when documenting events. It brings excitement and shows people who “forgot” to purchase their ticket to your event what they’re missing out on – something they WON’T do next year because, you know…FOMO (fear of missing out). I think back to one of the very first projects I worked on when starting at Fallston Group: dedicated social media for an amazing conference in College Park that celebrated professional women in banking and finance. The client had it all figured out and knew beforehand that they would need some social media support to help tell their story throughout the day. With an early 7 a.m. start, my fingers were afire as I posted updates to their Facebook account and Tweeted out live commentary on the spot from my smartphone. I was their social media correspondent. The best thing about it for our friends who put on the event? It was something they never had to worry about and were able to achieve fabulous results by delegating the to work to Fallston Group. What results, you might ask? During that event, we were able to live stream a video that was the company’s top-performing post OF ALL TIME on Facebook. An achievement they were very excited and proud to hear about. If you have an upcoming event and you want to make sure you don’t “drop the ball” when it comes to social media, feel free to contact us for a bit of advice. We can be reached via phone or email. You can also shoot us a message on social media and we’ll get back to you.
It Can Happen to You: Why Workplace Violence Insurance is the “New Normal”
By Frank Giachini, PSA Insurance & Financial Services The Capital Gazette, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, the Colorado Cinemark—active shooting incidents are becoming more frequent every year. In 2017 alone there were 346 mass shootings in the United States, compared to 270 in 2014. And as of July 31 of this year, we’ve had 202 incidents. An active shooter event is just one type of workplace violence for which your business is vulnerable. Every year, 2 million American workers report having been victims of workplace violence. The cost to organizations is staggering. A single incident can have serious consequences, including lost lives, psychological trauma to victims that can manifest or last months or years after an incident, physical damage to your building, and lost productivity. If workplace violence does happen in your business, resuming your normal operations after a traumatic attack can be extremely difficult (if not impossible). You would likely face questions such as: Will the police investigation delay my ability to access the premises? How long will my operations be down? Is temporary security needed? When will employees be healthy enough to return to work so business can resume? Will I recover lost business income if I cannot continue operations? Even if you get satisfactory answers to most of these questions, relying on your standard business insurance policies to cover your losses might leave you paying the bills. If you think your standard business policies will cover these expenses, you may want to think again. As an insurance and risk management professional, I’ve thoroughly analyzed traditional business policies and have found a number of shocking and expensive gaps in coverage. Workers’ Compensation, Business Interruption, and General Liability insurance are usually insufficient for fully paying all costs related to a workplace violence event. But, there is good news. Workplace Violence insurance is becoming increasingly available on the market to help your organization recover. Below, I detail some of the most prevalent gaps in various traditional policies, and offer some insights on how those can be covered with Workplace Violence insurance. Workers’ Compensation If an employee is severely injured—whether by gunshot or other means—that employee will typically be covered by Workers’ Compensation. But what about employees who witnessed their coworker getting shot? Will they have the equanimity to work without fear, to return to everyday life without psychological scarring? Depending in which state your business is operating, Workers’ Compensation might not cover psychiatric care without a physical injury. Think of the Pine Kirk Nursing Center shooting, which happened just last year: employees barricaded themselves in rooms to hide away—a traumatic experience in which they feared for their lives—while gunshots rang throughout the nursing center. The state they worked in, Ohio, does not provide Workers’ Compensation for mental trauma unless that trauma is caused by a physical injury—so these employees, who remained physically unscathed, had no coverage for the psychiatric care they likely needed. This is where a good Workplace Violence policy is a must. Regardless of what state your business is in, you would have coverage for the psychiatric medical bills of your employees. Business Interruption If you experience a loss and therefore can’t conduct business, you’ll be covered under the Business Interruption section of your Property policy, right? Not necessarily. What if an event is so horrific that you have to close your business despite the lack of any physical property damage that would force you out of business? That’s a business decision—not a covered loss under the Business Interruption policy. The Pulse Nightclub, for example, closed in 2016 due to its horrific shooting incidence. They didn’t close because they couldn’t conduct business; they closed because the shooting was so emotionally devastating for employees and patrons. In this case, Business Interruption coverage was limited at best. It doesn’t matter what your reason was to close your business, Workplace Violence insurance would pay for lost business income up to your policy limits. General Liability General Liability insurance won’t automatically cover third parties. But why should you care? Their expenses are irrelevant to you, right? In most cases, no—you should care very much about the impact this type of event can have on your business partners, vendors, and clients. In addition to being compassionate and a good citizen, covering third parties makes good business sense to avoid lawsuits and protect your reputation. Lawsuits If hurt on your premises, third parties are not prohibited from bringing an action against you for negligence. They may allege you didn’t take proper precautions to keep them safe. Lawsuits can last for years, and if they win, your General Liability policy will likely pay for covered damages and expenses up to the policy limits—but you will still likely end up paying for additional expenses that are not covered by General Liability. However, other than possibly defense expenses, the General Liability policy will not pay damages unless you are negligent. Hence, you would be much better off having Workplace Violence insurance, which is more suitable for covering a wide range of violence-related exposures to third parties. For instance, if you have a Workplace Violence policy, it will be used first to provide coverage before your General Liability insurance applies, and it protects you whether you are negligent or not. It will allow you to pay medical and funeral expenses, as well as a variety of other third party expenses, immediately following the incident. This may provide quick and compassionate relief to victims. Goodwill You should care about the third party’s well-being and want to respond in a positive way, as it also impacts your reputation. If you have Workplace Violence insurance, the crisis management services will help manage the chaos during the day of the incident and provide medical benefits to third parties who happened to be on your premises at the time. The alternative—leaving medical bills and funeral expenses to victims and their families—can be much worse, causing a public relations nightmare and permanent damage to your brand. For example, in the wake of the Colorado Cinemark 2012 shooting, while victims were reeling in the painful aftermath
C-Suite, It’s Time to Get Social!
I recently had the pleasure of attending an executive communications conference in Washington, D.C. My biggest takeaway? Company executives’ social media presence is no longer optional – it’s critical to success from a business practices perspective, as well as employee engagement. CEOs have a measurable impact on society’s trust in their company. If you haven’t reviewed the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer global report, I highly recommend giving it a read. Results revealed a whopping 79% of participants believe a CEO should be personally visible in business situations such as ensuring the company is trusted, speaking out on government decisions and social issues and communicating regularly with the public. The most visible outlet nowadays? Social media platforms. Social media allows an executive to translate their in-person personality online, thereby humanizing their role and company. In opposition to fallacies such as, “Our executives don’t have time for this” or “CEOs engaging on social channels is too risky,” survey results from BRANDFog’s CEO Social Media Survey indicate a high level of interest from the public for hearing directly from business leaders. However, as speaker Stacy Elliott, director of executive communications at Microsoft pointed out at the conference, a great communications person needs to be behind every great executive brand. It is important to view your social media presence as part of your company’s marketing strategy…and to do so with authenticity. As Stacy explained, you have to “crawl before you walk before you run.” Establishing a social executive voice TAKES TIME! But the juice is worth the squeeze – 73% of consumers agree that social media engagement makes CEOs more effective leaders. And research by Hootsuite and LinkedIn found a 40% increase in employee engagement as a direct correlation to C-Suite social involvement. I saw firsthand the success an authentic executive voice can bring – we heard from Steve Handmaker, CMO for Assurance, whose company currently rates as having 98% employee engagement versus the national average of 34%. His top tips? Set clearly defined goals and be transparent. I loved his advice to avoid perfection…for example, using contractions and distributing cell phone videos translate as more genuine than a produced and polished product, and their company has also seen tremendous success through referencing pop culture and using real-life personal stories. My favorite words of wisdom were his pointing out that fun and humor doesn’t make you “less smart.” I completely agree! If your CEO isn’t comfortable personally posting on social media, that’s okay. Use your company accounts to post ABOUT them and share their story and views – and be certain to empower other members of your executive team to be brand ambassadors and represent your C-Suite on social. If you’re interested in learning more about building, strengthening and defending your reputation, please feel free to give me a call at 410.420.2001 or contact me. In all fairness, I can’t end my thoughts without taking my own advice, so here’s a fun fact you may not know about me, personally: one of my biggest passions outside of the office is music. I began performing publicly in the fourth grade, and grew up singing in musicals, as the lead in my church’s band in high school and as a member of multiple choirs. I also played classical piano for more than a decade. Ultimately, while performing in college both in choir and independently, I was faced with the decision to pursue a career in music or major in something with a bit more job assurance…which, of course, eventually led me to my role at Fallston Group today! However, I still sing for fun (while admittedly a bit rusty!), including on an online karaoke app connecting millions of users around the globe – I hope you enjoy a silly video of me singing one of my favorite Disney songs with a fellow app user who joined me.
Crisis is a Growth Strategy!
Our team has been referred to as crisis leadership experts, operators and chief reputation officers. Nearly all the companies we’ve worked with want the same thing: for us to help them maintain control and weather the storm. That’s their definition of winning: to survive the crisis. But after decades helping people during life’s most critical times, we’ve come to realize that the real win is growth. Yes, we are saying what you think we’re saying: Crisis can be a growth strategy. We get it. You want to save your team, your partners, your shareholders… your brand. Even your vendors are depending on you to steer them out of the storm. You may have support, but really, it’s just you at the helm. You want to get to dry land as soon as possible. The last thing on your mind is how to grow your company. We want you to think differently. To get you out of the flight or fight mindset. Many in the marketplace confuse crisis management with surviving the next news cycle or spinning the current issue so that it looks good. I differ, you don’t spin your way through crisis, you lead your way through it. Crisis management is about leadership, strategy AND communications. Because, the decisions you make today will be judged by many for years to come. Crisis must be planned for, predicted and used as a springboard for growth. And if managed correctly, your organization will be bigger, faster, stronger than it was before that defining moment. Instead of merely surviving a crisis, your company could… Enhance operational efficiency. Become more profitable. Increase marketplace value. And, cement your long-term leadership legacy. Now that’s winning. For more information on how to build, strengthen or defend your reputation, contact Fallston Group today. Remember, the decisions you make today will be judged by many for years to come!
