Leading Through Change with Melissa Agnes

Connection is at the heart of any good crisis communication strategy.   However, we've all seen leaders attempt to connect with their audience with all the right words, and yet something feels… off.  While a Crisis Ready Hindrance is often blocking that connection, understanding near and far emotional enemies is a powerful tool to help you overcome those Hindrances to resonate and connect in meani...

Make no mistake: AI absolutely will affect crisis communication — and crisis in general, for that matter. Recently, my friend and the queen of PR herself, Gini Deitrich said something that got me thinking about predictive AI even further: Could AI predict the emotional escalation of a crisis… before it begins to happen? This episode explores this concept and what it could mean for the crisis commu...

How you make your customers  feel … is the powerful differentiator from your competitors, lends to the emotional connection you build with your stakeholders, and can ultimately make or break your brand's invincibility. Author and Customer Retention Expert, Joey Coleman, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss strategic ways to foster a culture whereby increased customer retention leads to br...

In a world where distractions are thrown at us at every corner, Attention Expert, Neen James, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to share techniques for being mindful and intentional about where you dedicate your attention, in a way that prioritizes the things that matter most to your business, your team, your stakeholders, and your career. You can also listen to this episode on  iTunes ,  Spotify...

Each month Melissa answers questions from real people doing real work in–or learning about–crisis readiness. This month's question comes from Natalia who asked some core questions that pertain to crisis management and crisis readiness, such as: "What is crisis management and what does it mean to be a crisis management professional?" "What are some of the most common mistakes organizations make in...

Utility companies are no stranger to the multitude of challenges that present themselves in times of crisis. As a result, they have a ton of real-time crisis management experience that others can learn from. Alectra is one such organization. With a 1,250 m 2  (or 2,000 km 2 ) service territory delivering power to approximately one million customers in Ontario, Canada, Alectra deals with issues and...

Humor Engineer, Drew Tarvin, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss how humor can be used to effectively help solve so many common workplace issues, such as a lack of employee engagement, stress management, communication issues, and much more. About this episode Drew's outlook on life and the way he helps organizations use humor to solve internal issues, build a stronger culture, and increa...

Dr. Nick Morgan, author of  Can You Hear Me? (amongst other great books) and founder of Public Words, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss the impacts that the virtual world have on internal teams and the conscious efforts and actions that leaders can take to mitigate the risks that these impacts present on company morale, team-building, and ultimately the organization's culture and reput...

Each month, Melissa answers your crisis ready questions. This month's question comes from Bridget… and, in fact, Bridget had a handful of really great questions that Melissa got to provide responses to. Here's a sampling of what these questions were: "Is crisis management different from industry to industry?" "What is the best way to manage controversial issues that spark heated emotion within a s...

Shashank Nigam, author of  Soar  and CEO of Simpliflying, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to share some powerful strategies on how today's leading airlines have managed to build sustainable trust – and how that serves them when undesirable incidents risk occurring. About this episode The airline industry is tough. The risks are exponential; profit margins are difficult to maintain; the general...

Charlie Maclean-Bristol, one of the Founders and Directors of PlanB Consulting, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss how organizations can get around the lack of certification in the profession of crisis management, to make sure they're partnering with the right professionals for their company's crisis ready needs. About this episode If you follow my work, then it's quite possible that yo...

Jackie Ford, partner at the law firm  Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease , joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss proactive legal strategies in your crisis readiness and the practice of compassionate compliance. About this episode In my experience, one of the biggest challenges organizations face is forming a crisis ready alliance with their legal department where everyone is on the same page,...

A culture of compassion requires consciousness. How compassionately conscious is your brand? Nearly ten years after Dave Carroll's  United Breaks Guitars  video series went viral and helped change the landscape of issue and crisis management for brands, Dave joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss the impact of compassion on brands and on an organization's issue management, crisis management...

This month's question: "I have been a digital journalist, reporter and TV producer for the last 10 years. I am interested in merging my skills in breaking news coverage into a career in crisis communications. I'd love to speak with you to hear your thoughts around how I can merge my journalism career into a future in crisis communication work." The answer explores: Your resumé: strategic ways to m...

William Espey, the man responsible for the voice of the brand that is Chipotle, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss the challenges Chipotle faced when managing the E. coli crisis in 2015, and the mindset and strategies they implemented to manage the many dynamics of this incident and the reputational impact it threatened to leave on the brand. About this episode Chipotle is a brand that...

Mike Ganino, company culture expert and author of  Company Culture For Dummies , joins The Invincible Brand Podcast to discuss how you can assess and implement a strong culture that will lend to your brand's invincibility. Whether your organization is a start-up or has been around for decades, no matter its size, type, or industry, Mike provides insights, strategies, and clear tactics that will he...

In April 2018, shortly after the  shooting that took place at YouTube's headquarters  by 38-year-old Nasim Najafi Aghdam in San Bruno, California, the media learned from Aghdam's father that she had been confronted by Mountain View Police Department officers prior to the shooting taking place. Before MVPD had time to make this connection themselves and gather the necessary information, news of thi...

The Horse River Wildfire that took place in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, in May 2016, was unprecedented in Canadian history. Eighty-eight thousand people needed to be evacuated in the span of only a few hours, for a month-long evacuation. This wildfire was so catastrophic that its economic impact actually impacted Canada's GDP. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jordan Redshaw, one...

Earlier this week, I published a #crisisready video that discusses the emotional factors that can quickly escalate an incident to crisis-level. Remaining on the topic of emotional impact and the human factors of crisis management and preparedness, I'm excited to be sharing the latest Crisis Intelligence Podcast with you! I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with Sam Miller, a psyc...

When it comes to crisis management, law enforcement has one of the most challenging tasks. Not only does their crisis management involve real dangers and the important mission of keeping their communities and themselves safe and out of harms way, but it also includes a need for effective and nearly instantaneous communications. And while the former challenge has always been a part of their job des...

The wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada have been blazing since the start of May and have so far destroyed over 2400 buildings , including homes and businesses, and have resulted in an evacuation of approximately 90,000 citizens. Having yet to be completely tamed by fire fighters, the truly exceptional part is that, of the approximate 90,000 evacuees, not one person has died on account of...

I recently had the honor of sitting down with Daniel Linksey, former Superintendent in Chief of the Boston Police Department, to record an episode of the Crisis Intelligence Podcast. Dan was the incident commander during the Boston Marathon Bombing. Within this podcast, Dan shares his first-hand experience of what it was like to manage the Boston Marathon Bombing crisis. He goes into great detail...

The law enforcement industry has been struggling through a lot of heat lately. Many leaders within the law enforcement community are working very hard to overcome this industry crisis and to embed a corporate culture based on trust-building and transparency within their communities. One of these leaders is Brian Willis. Brian is a recognized thought leader and catalyst for change in the law enforc...

Welcome to episode #054 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Claudia Liute. Claudia is a humanitarian who works on the ground in some very hostile and conflicted crisis-affected communities. In her experience, one of the things she sees far too often is people rushing in with the best of intentions for helping, but too often forgetting to first take the time to speak with the...

Welcome to episode #053 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Dr. Thomas Phelan. When it comes to critical communications, comprehension is imperative. It can literally mean the difference between life and death. And yet, according to recent research conducted by Dr. Thomas Phelan, the majority of “emergency management messages may be reaching their intended audiences, but at...