Xenophon Strategies

Blake Rhodes

Since the Costa Concordia ran aground last week in Italy, Costa Cruise Lines and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, have seen their reputations and bottom lines suffer severe blows.  While a crisis situation could be around the corner for virtually any company, planning for and effectively enacting a crisis response plan can mitigate damage to a company’s reputation and financial ledger.

From the crew’s delayed and fumbled reactions after the ship hit the...

Blake Rhodes

As you know by now, Bob Brady is assisting The Salvation Army in its response to Hurricane Irene in North Carolina.  In addition to his media relations role, he is providing us with his first person account through video and photos.  Here is a look at his photos from his first two days on assignment.

Bob pulled this Taco Bell sign out...

Mark Hazlin

It was about 1:30 a.m. on January 13, 2010, when Bob Poff sent an instant message on Skype, “Another BIG aftershock! I’m really scared.”

I had contacted Bob because he was the disaster services director for The Salvation Army in Haiti and I wanted to set up interviews for him with CNN and ABC News. A massive earthquake had destroyed the country only hours before. The media wanted eyewitness accounts of what was happening. The public wanted information. The...

Jay Silverberg

Corporate crises are like heart attacks. I learned that personally at 2 a.m. August 28th, 2009. The worst pain I’ve ever felt coursed through my chest, into my left arm, my neck and jaw. I sweated through my t-shirt in less than two minutes. Yes, I knew it was a heart attack, and fortunately, my wife and I were prepared – for that evening and for what was to come during my subsequent recovery.

How was the blockage in my heart linked to what I do for a living?: