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When things go wrong...
...And what to do about it
STRATEGY
James Tickell
Partner, Campbell Tickell
James Tickell
Founding Partner, Campbell Tickell
Issue 79 | September 2025
Things go wrong. They shouldn’t. But they do. Sometimes they can even involve one or more deaths, or a monstrous injustice being inflicted on innocent people. We can all think of (very) recent examples of both. But usually they’re less serious than that, somewhere on that long spectrum between minor setback and major disaster and you, dear reader, may one day find yourself the person standing when the music stops and all the seats are occupied.
Facing a crisis
The first priority, of course, is to make sure that whatever did go wrong has been stopped and that things aren’t about to get even worse. Let’s choose a fictitious example, a safe distance from the world of housing, and say that you are running a rabbit petting farm. A large number of your most popular rabbits have unexpectedly died, possibly from eating unsuitable rabbit food, or maybe a virus. So, you immediately close the farm, get rid of all existing food stocks, buy in more from another supplier, conduct a deep clean and send off an unfortunate dead rabbit for a post-mortem.
But the local media are on to you, with stories of distraught children who witnessed the last breaths of the unfortunate bunnies and all sorts of speculation. What next? The Daily Mail, with “BUNNY FARM HORROR FOR TODDLERS!”? The first principle of crisis management is always to tell the truth – lies and denial pretty much always come back to bite you on the ankle sooner rather than later. Not necessarily the whole truth, but certainly nothing but the truth. The point here is that you yourself may not yet know the whole truth. Was this down to faulty feed, a new rabbit virus, human error, something in the water, or even deliberate sabotage?
You need also to be certain of the basic facts. Is the death toll 12, 24 or 36? Are the hamsters and the guinea pigs unaffected? What about the rabbit handlers? Might they or even child visitors to the farm be at risk? Given all these uncertainties, saying very little and playing for time with the media may not be a good option either. Bland statements about your undying commitment to the welfare of rabbits just won’t hack it. Nor indeed setting up a judicial inquiry that may take some months, or indeed years, to report. But then neither does a stone wall of silence and refusing to comment.
“The first principle of crisis management is always to tell the truth – lies and denial pretty much always come back to bite you on the ankle sooner rather than later.”
Crisis management
The basic ingredients of a response are clear enough:
- giving the basic facts
- admission that something has gone wrong
- expressing concern and sympathy for any victims, perhaps offering redress or compensation
- looking into the causes
- making sure that the same thing can never happen again
Defensiveness must be avoided, but it can be important to quash any wild speculation that may be out there. No, there is no new virus threatening rabbit populations across the whole of the UK, nor even a rabbit-hating fiend on the loose. We all know that it’s better to announce ‘Stay calm…’ rather than ‘Don’t panic!!’
Within the organisation, calm and measured leadership is key. It may be necessary to set up a ‘Gold Command Team’ or similar to coordinate actions and responses. Speed is of the essence, though not without careful planning. So often, a sudden crisis is made worse by a cack-handed response, with the usual unintended consequences. As matters progress, you probably will need to go back to the media with updates, but best not have too many bites at that cherry – move swiftly, but wait until you have something definitive to add.
Crisis averted?
How might it end? Let’s say that the rabbits sadly died because of a rogue batch of feed which came from a particular importer. The manufacturers have taken full responsibility. No other animals are at risk, nor are any people. You have now introduced routine testing of all batches of animal feed and have shared your learning with similar institutions across the UK. The small number of children who witnessed distressing scenes have been offered a free day trip to Thorpe Park. A donation has been made to a veterinary charity. The staff involved have access to trauma counselling and the remaining rabbits are doing their thing to repopulate the hutches.
And with any luck, some other unfortunates at the other end of the county will now be in the media spotlight, so you and the team can get on with rebuilding the petting farm’s temporarily dented local reputation. Why not get on the front foot and import some giant Belgian rabbits to enhance the visitor experience? Of course, some crises will be harder to deal with than our petting farm, but the principles are always the same: be truthful, open, calm, open to change and considered.
“Of course, some crises will be harder to deal with than our petting farm, but the principles are always the same: be truthful, open, calm, open to change and considered.”
