Bill Coletti is a crisis communications and reputation management expert, with more than twenty-five years of experience managing high-stakes crises, issues management, and media relations challenges for Fortune 500 companies and global political campaigns. He is the founder of Kith: a crisis communications and reputation management firm that is at its best when working with established corporations disrupted in the age of disruption.
Bill previously co-led the Global Risk Management and Crisis Communications Practice for Hill+Knowlton Strategies and has provided senior counsel in crisis management, corporate communications, and reputation defense to clients including AT&T, Cargill, The College Board, Target Corporation, American Airlines, The Home Depot, American Express, and Xerox, as well as major universities and NGOs.
Top Takeaways: Reputation Management with Bill Coletti
- Crises Communication Practices for business and individuals
- Crises response, crises planning and crises training
- There are periods of time when you show up in the bright lights of public scrutiny
- When things go viral in a negative way
- “Bad Publicity” is no longer positive for your popularity
- There is a long tail when it comes to negative publicity
- People are generally forgiving, but your reputation stays on the internet
- Society is very forgiving, but you must ask for forgiveness if a mistake is made
- We need to be careful- mics are always live, take responsibility when mistakes are made
- From an organization standpoint, sometimes the best move is to distance from the situation
- It’s not always fair and it’s not always right, but organizations are bigger than any one individual
- First mover disadvantage- the first to get caught receives the most scrutiny
- Desensitized due to frequency
- First and foremost- personal growth outside the eyes of the media
- Step 1 when mistakes are made – recognize the mistake that was made
- Step 2 when mistakes are made – determine your public strategy (usually apologize)
- Step 3 when mistakes are made – articulate a plan moving forward
- Start with an intentional strategy to avoid crises
Listen to the Audio
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Learning From Leaders:
Current Book: Grace: A Leader’s Guide to a Better Us by John Baldoni
Leadership Superpower: Adaptability
Motivational Mantra:
[shareable]If not now, then when?[/shareable]
Book Most Often Gifted: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
Additional Items Mentioned
Bill’s website: kith.co/
Critical Moments: The New Mindset of Reputation Management by Bill Coletti