Adjacency and ripple effects: Thinking dynamically in the face of crisis 

A crisis plan is not a one-and-done document; preparedness requires a constant commitment to proactive planning, situational awareness and flexibility. 

Jay Weisberger, who leads external communications for DPR Construction and has 20 years of experience navigating everything that can go wrong in the construction industry, addressed this aspect of crisis comms during Week 1 of PR Daily’s Crisis Communications Certificate course. Read on for his best advice on setting your business up to survive and mobilize when the unexpected happens. 

Crisis-ready mindset 

As any communicator who’s been through a major crisis knows, emergency situations don’t happen in a vacuum — and they don’t just happen to one organization.   

“We love it in communications when a crisis happens to someone else and we don’t have to do anything,” Weisberger quipped. But 10 minutes later, he noted, that problem could be yours. He emphasized that communicators should plan with an “imaginative mindset” that considers how interconnected issues can evolve. 

If that sounds like a pessimistic way to live, consider this: Assuming anything can go wrong and thinking through the ripple effects will help you develop plans before a risk becomes a crisis. 

• Identify “adjacency crises”: Weisberger pointed to the impact that Boeing’s recurring crises have had on not just airlines, but any business that depends on air travel to run smoothly. “Something happens to somebody else. It feels like you’re in the clear, but wait a minute,” he said. “Where is your vulnerability, actually?”  

• Find the ripple effects: Weisberger recommended that communicators run “thought experiments” to envision various crisis scenarios and potential ripple effects. These might not directly impact you but could do damage in the long run. 

Among the “what-ifs” to monitor and have a plan for, Weisberger floated infectious disease outbreaks, workplace injuries and violence, security breaches and information leaks, disruptive activism and legislation that impacts your business. 

In particular, he flagged predictions that “within two to three years, almost every company (is) going to deal with some form of deepfake video” or other malicious creative. “We really need to be paying attention to the threats that are out there and following the best practices that are beginning to be even more and more thoroughly developed so that we can inoculate ourselves from some of the lower-hanging fruit,” he said. 

Appraisal and action 

When a situation arises that requires a comms response, take a beat to classify it. In Weisberger’s experience, many communicators are quick to label any disruption as a crisis, which can lead to unnecessary escalation or misaligned responses. “Don’t confuse an incident with a crisis,” Weisberger advised. “Just because something happens does not make it a crisis.”  

• Assess the impact: An operational delay may initially appear critical, but if it doesn’t affect overall objectives or stakeholders, it may be manageable without full crisis response. And situations require additional investigation: “Sometimes things happen on the field that aren’t exactly what you saw on tape,” Weisberger said.  

• Shore up your contingency plans: “Think about where your firms are vulnerable,” Weisberger suggested. In the construction industry, that could mean supply chain delays or equipment recalls; he and his teams develop plans that outline response thresholds for each. 

• Look at the long game: When Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapsed in March 2024, it didn’t have an immediate impact on DPR Construction, which has a local office. “However, the Port of Baltimore is now closed, and we get all kinds of material deliveries to ports all over the country,” Weisberger said. And there’s the human aspect to consider with regard to employees, their families, and the well-being of local communities: “Those of us in the construction industry really felt this because the only fatalities were to construction workers on the bridge at the time.” 

Train, prepare, empower 

An effective response requires a well-trained, confident team that knows exactly what their role is in a crisis situation. “A plan unused is a useless plan,” Weisberger stressed. By running crisis drills and simulations, communicators can ensure that their team is ready to adapt as situations unfold. 

• Conduct regular crisis training: “Think about who are the right stakeholders,” Weisberger said, explaining that leaders in particular may need spokesperson training and crisis drills to help them feel confident and prepared. Ensure everyone knows what priorities to focus on at every stage of a crisis or incident. 

• Prioritize efficiency: Weisberger pointed out that large organizations must especially consider who to mobilize in a crisis to ensure that information flows quickly to decision-makers when it matters most so that the right information reaches the right people at the right time.  

• Get your information in order: Outline who your audiences are and what each stakeholder set expects. Although Weisberger said that in his experience, “the public is reasonably accepting and forgiving … they do expect us to be accountable for whatever parts of a crisis that they feel we should be able to be accountable for, reasonably.” Leaders must be ready to address core concerns transparently and empathetically. 

Finally, Weisberger advised viewers to keep their crisis plan updated. “Make sure you’re refreshing that knowledge on some manner of recurring basis, even if it’s just within the comms infrastructure of your organization or within your firm or within your practice.” 

After all, preparedness isn’t only about predicting the next crisis, but about developing the awareness and adaptability to respond effectively when the unexpected occurs.  

“The faster you can mobilize in those first moments of a crisis, the better off you’re going to be,” Weisberger said. 

Learn more about crisis preparedness at Ragan and PR Daily’s 2024 Future of Communications Conference, during Comms Week, Nov. 12-15.