Positive thinking in crisis.

January 25, 2010 at 10:29 pm (Public Relations) (crisis management, damaged reputation, positive thinking)

I have just been reading the book called Risk Issues and Crisis Management by Michael Regester and Judy Larkin. They raised an interesting point of view about crisis management.
Instead of thinking about all the damage it can to to a company, (all the loss of trust and the anger of stakeholders), crisis management can be looked at as a source of opportunity.
If there is a plan for a potential crisis and when bad luck hits the company shows how well they can handle it can actually win them friends, support not to mention a reputation of reliability.
It is really important though to make a clear distinction between promises and actions.
Covering up a mistake with a nice story can backfire. The right actions have a much bigger value.
Unfortunately the past of the company can really affect any plan to do crisis management. If in the past it had been known for mistakes, attempted cover ups, and mishandling of issues then the harder it will be to shake that reputation.
I am wondering how difficult it is to turn a company with a less then perfect past around? Is it possible? After all, the media like to go and dig up other negative stories when a crisis emerges, which makes matters worse. If so, how does a PR professional deal with that?

Is it all a matter of positive thinking?