A Possible Answer for Global Warming
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This article by Kathleen McGinn Spring was prepared for the November 20, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Don’t Imitate Martha In Times of Crisis
Accidents happen and products get recalled. Like Boy
Scouts and Girl Scouts, communications executives need to “Be
Prepared” for crisises, says Mike Cherenson of the Cherenson
Group, an ad agency in Livingston (www.cherenson.com). Martha Stewart’s
recent brush with the SEC, he says, is a good example of what happens
when someone is not prepared.
Cherenson is on a panel entitled “Oh my gosh! What do we do now?
The role of communications when a crisis strikes,” for the Business
Marketing Association of New Jersey on Thursday, November 21, at 6
p.m. at the Somerset Ramada. Tom Lento of the Sarnoff Corporation
will moderate the panel, which also includes Phyllis Miller
of Montclair State; Becky Yeaman, vice president of media and
analyst relations at Global Crossing; and Bud Grebey, vice president
of public relations at Siemens Corp. Cost: $40. Call Erica Littig
at 609-409-5601.
The panel will cover how to put together a crisis communication team,
making sure to include one spokesperson who represents your company
to the media and the investment community. Also, how to decide who
will be the audience that you need to address during the future crisis
— consumers? parents? government regulators? and/or investors?
Cherenson is vice president of the Cherenson Group, founded in 1958
by his father Lee Cherenson. A politics major at Ithaca College,
he went to the Graduate School of Political Management, now located
at Georgetown University. Be forthright and candidly talk about your
company’s campaign to solve problems, he advises: “Don’t pretend
things are OK when they are not. Tell it all and tell it fast. Martha
Stewart made a big mistake dragging it on.”
Be calm and direct , he advises. “Much of what getscommunication is non verbal. Panic shows.”Be more responsive and open and responsible than peopleexpect. Speak plainly, don’t use jargon.Keep your perspective . A crisis is not a win/win situation.”A lot of people try to think `how do I win’ but in not all instancescan they win. Sometimes it is about helping people in need.” Johnson& Johnson weathered its Tylenol debacle in part because it focusedon the medical professionals and consumers who needed information.Be available . Provide regular updates. Don’t be evasive.if the information can’t be divulged, give reasons why. If you don’tknow something, say you will look it up.Knock down rumors and listen carefully. If the reporterasks an off-the-wall question, the public may be misunderstandingsomething.Prepare your points of agenda. Your comments will becomethe record of the event. So when the situation is over, wrap it upand put it in perspective. The silver lining might be that your companyhas a better relationship with the press.Says Cherenson: “PR people are supposed to remind businessthat it operates with the permission of the public. Nevertheless,the lawyers and the accountants have different agendas. Sometimesthe greatest crisis management is the PR person who whispers intothe CEO’s ear `I don’t think we should do that. I don’t think we shoulddump those chemicals there.’ We are supposed to be the conscienceof the organization.”Top Of PageA Possible Answer for Global WarmingHuman beings, similar to other powerful or numerousspecies, affect the environment and ecosystems. Now the combinationof power and numbers means that the alterations are occurring at agreatly accelerated rate. One of the ecosystem alterations takingplace is the rapid and possibly significant increase in greenhousegases with special reference to carbon dioxide (CO2). Limiting theincrease in CO2 can be viewed as an insurance policy against possiblesevere consequences — economically and socially important alterationin weather patterns, rise in ocean levels, production of large numbersof refugees, possible catastrophic events, and sizable economic dislocation.On Thursday, November 21, at 10 a.m., Michael C. Trachtenbergspeaks on “CO2 Capture and Sequestration: One Approach to GlobalWarming” at a meeting of 55Plus at the Jewish Center of Princetonon 435 Nassau Street. Call 609-737-2001.Trachtenberg is director of the Sapient’s Institute (SI), a researchand development institute located at Cook College, Rutgers University,and the CEO of Carbozyme in Burlington. Working together, Carbozymeand SI are developing a number of separation methods generally basedon catalyzed or facilitated transport liquid membranes. These aredirected at separating and capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from a varietyof gas sources including air, respiratory gas, flue gas, landfillgas, and natural gas. One of the most important applications is thecapture and subsequent sequestration of CO2 as a step towards reducinggreenhouse gas concentrations.Trachtenberg reviews the alternatives and discusses his organization’srecent work for effective CO2 capture as one possible solution.Trachtenberg consulted for NASA on sustaining humans in space. Hehas held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School, Boston UniversitySchool of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch. Hewas also vice president for research and development at NeuroGenesisInc., a nutriceutical company focused on the psychopharmacology ofaddictive diseases.Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
