In 2002 I had the privilege of making a few remarks at the unveiling of the new Heroes stamp issued by the US Postal Service to commemorate the events of September 11, 2001. I think I surprised my colleagues by beginning my comments by saying that I didn't think the term "heroes" should be applied […]
Our labrador/border collie mix, Kona, has a rare gift. When she meets a new dog, she sizes them up almost instantly and adjusts her play to the other dog's needs. With some, she's the aggressor, clearly dominating the other dog in their puppy wrestling matches. With others, she's more passive and allows herself to be […]
Here's another no-brainer lesson that seems to have to be relearned on a regular basis: use you warning system only for actual warnings. The City of San Francisco has had a system of warning sirens in place since the Cold War. In 2004 the old air raid sirens were replaced with a modern system. The […]
Here's a no-brainer for crisis managers – if you don't have the capability to do something, don't give the public the impression that you can. Case in point is the latest controversy over real time monitoring of hazardous substances released in the recent Chevron refinery fire. Media reports both during and immediately after the fire […]
It's no secret that for years government agencies have used euphemisms such "sources close to the investigation" or "source who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak for the agency" to leak insider information to the media. This allows the agency to distance itself from any political fallout if the […]
Every time I follow a crisis, I think of the old Kris Kristofferson song, "Who's to Bless and Who's to Blame?" Anyone that has been in the business of crisis management for any length of time knows that media coverage of a crisis follows three phases: What happened? This is the initial coverage of the […]
On Monday evening, a small leak at the Chevron refinery in Richmond CA escalated into a series of explosions and a fire that released a plume of toxic smoke over the Bay Area. One of the things that struck me as I was watching the television coverage of the event was an almost complete lack […]
One of the problems with making a decision is that there are almost always unintended consequences to that decision. No matter how you assess and analyze a problem, there's always the risk that your decision will produce results that you never expected. Sometimes you're pleasantly surprised; most times you're not. Case in point is the […]
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has just released its preliminary findings on the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 that killed 11 workers and caused a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What makes these findings interesting is that they focus not on the technical failures but on management system deficiencies. Key among […]