Although it's impossible to plan for every crisis, planning for any crisis is a productive exercise. The problem is, most organizations don't do it. Ironically in today's world, there are only two types of organizations: those with a crisis management plan and those wishing they had one.

Although it's possible to do crisis planning on a strictly in-house basis, the best crisis plans are based on internal knowledge and external crisis expertise.

Start planning for a crisis by forming a crisis team. Effective crisis teams are represented by three important elements: management, legal and public relations, including both outside public relations and outside legal counsel. In a crisis, outside PR and legal will be valuable on several fronts. Both can present viewpoints unfettered by internal corporate dynamics. Both are experienced in working under the pressure of a breaking crisis. Both can act in the best interest of your organization, without fear of repercussion. The management person on your team must be able to make decisions without having to ask someone else first.

Start your plan based on the most likely crises that might befall your organization. But don't stop there. Bring in your outside public relations expert for his or her ideas. You may be surprised at what they tell you about what kind of crises you can experience, based on extensive media experience you don't have.

Organize procedures and methods of communication and action from the moment a crisis begins. What constitutes a crisis? When does action begin? How do we locate the crisis management team? How much time does the team have to act? Who else do we bring in? The latter question can be answered with adjunct team members, based on their expertise. If your crisis is environmental, bring in those adjunct team members. If it's financial, bring in the bean counters. Create a directory with every person on the team, including adjunct members and alternates, and every conceivable way of getting in touch with them immediately when a crisis hits.

Much more goes into crisis planning than outlined here. Whether you hire a public relations professional to help oversee these and many other aspects, or do it yourself, remember a cardinal rule: keep the media in touch and informed. If you don't give them a story, someone else will.

Next: Resources and "To-Dos" when a crisis strikes

For a complete copy of this article email: info@deangroup.com

Dennis Dean is an Emmy-winning former journalist, public relations consultant and media trainer. He can be reached at dennis@deangroup.com or 262-238-8740.