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Why Planning before the Storm Matters<\/b><\/h2>\nWhy Planning before the Storm Matters<\/b><\/h2>\nNobody wants to think about worst-case scenarios when things are running smoothly. But that’s exactly when you should build your crisis communication plan. Waiting until the crisis hits means making critical decisions under pressure without a roadmap.<\/p>\n
Alexia Poe<\/a> knows this reality well. With over 30 years of strategic communications experience at the highest levels of government and business, she has guided organizations through countless high-stakes moments. She served as Director of Communications to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, made history as the youngest Press Secretary to a Tennessee Governor under Don Sundquist, and worked in the White House as Deputy Press Secretary to First Lady Laura Bush. Today, as Principal of Poe Consulting, LLC, a Nashville-based strategic consulting firm, she helps organizations prepare for moments they hope will never come.<\/p>\n Research shows that 95% of business leaders believe a crisis is inevitable, yet only 49% have a crisis communication plan<\/a> in place. The gap between awareness and preparation creates unnecessary risk. Organizations that plan ahead respond faster, maintain stakeholder trust, and recover more quickly when challenges arise.<\/p>\n The first step in building a crisis communication plan is identifying who will be in the room when things go wrong. This team should include decision makers, not just communicators.<\/p>\n “I’ve been in rooms where everyone nodded yes. Then a week later, five teams were working toward five different goals,” Poe recalls. That misalignment becomes dangerous during a crisis when every hour counts.<\/p>\n Your crisis communication team needs clear roles. Who has final approval authority? Who serves as the primary spokesperson? Who monitors media and social channels? Who manages internal communication? Who coordinates with legal counsel? Answering these questions now prevents confusion later.<\/p>\n The team should also establish a clear chain of command. When the unexpected happens, people need to know who makes the call and how quickly decisions can move. Bottlenecks during a crisis can turn a manageable situation into a disaster.<\/p>\n No plan can predict every crisis, but you can anticipate categories of risk specific to your organization. These might include data breaches, product recalls, leadership misconduct, natural disasters, workplace accidents, or financial setbacks.<\/p>\n For each scenario, outline the immediate questions you’ll need to answer. Who is affected? What happened? What are you doing about it? When will you know more? These basics form the foundation of your initial response.<\/p>\n “In government, every word matters. You are speaking not just for yourself, but for the people you serve,” Poe notes. The same principle applies to any organization. Your stakeholders need to hear that you understand the situation and are taking action.<\/p>\n Document the specific stakeholders for each scenario. A data breach requires different outreach than a weather-related closure. Employees, customers, investors, regulators, and media all have different information needs and timelines.<\/p>\n The best crisis communication plans include message templates that can be adapted quickly. These aren’t scripts, but frameworks that ensure consistency and completeness.<\/p>\n Every initial crisis message should include acknowledgement of the situation, facts you know so far, actions you’re taking, commitment to transparency, and how people can get updates. This structure helps you move fast without missing critical elements.<\/p>\n “Clarity creates momentum. When people understand what is happening, they can move forward with confidence. Without that clarity, even strong plans can stall,” Poe explains. During a crisis, people need information that helps them make decisions about their own safety, security, or next steps.<\/p>\n Simplicity matters too. “Simple wins. If you can’t explain it clearly, it’s probably not ready yet,” she says. Complex jargon or hedging language erodes trust when people need straight answers.<\/p>\n Different audiences consume information through different channels. Your crisis plan should map which channels you’ll use for which audiences.<\/p>\n Internal communication might flow through email, text alerts, intranet updates, or all-hands meetings. External communication could include press releases, social media, website updates, customer emails, or media interviews. Having these channels identified and access credentials documented saves precious time.<\/p>\n Test these channels before you need them. Make sure multiple team members have login credentials. Verify that contact lists are current. Ensure backup communication methods exist if primary channels fail.<\/p>\n “That time taught me to listen first. You cannot tell a story well if you don’t fully understand it,” Poe advises. Build listening into your plan by establishing how you’ll monitor response and feedback. Set up social media monitoring, track media coverage, and create feedback loops so you know what questions people are asking.<\/p>\n A crisis communication plan that sits in a drawer doesn’t work. Regular practice through tabletop exercises helps teams internalize the plan and identify gaps.<\/p>\n These exercises don’t need to be elaborate. Gather your crisis team quarterly and walk through a scenario. What would we say? Who would say it? How fast could we execute? What’s missing? These conversations reveal weaknesses while the stakes are still low.<\/p>\n Update your plan after each exercise and after each real crisis. What worked? What didn’t? What changed in your organization or industry that requires new planning?<\/p>\n “When you build a communications office from the ground up, you learn how important alignment is. Everyone needs to understand a common mission and vision and move in the same direction,” Poe reflects. That alignment comes from practice and repetition.<\/p>\n Crisis communication planning is ultimately about trust. When something goes wrong, people look to see if you’re prepared, transparent, and focused on solutions. Organizations that have thought through their response demonstrate competence and care.<\/p>\n “Clear communication builds trust. And trust is what moves everything forward,” Poe emphasizes. Building that trust starts long before the crisis arrives. It begins with the decision to plan, the discipline to practice, and the commitment to communicate clearly when it matters most.<\/p>\n The question isn’t whether your organization will face a crisis. The question is whether you’ll be ready to communicate effectively when it happens. The time to build your plan is now, while you have the luxury of thoughtful preparation instead of the pressure of immediate response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why Planning before the Storm Matters Nobody wants to think about worst-case scenarios when things are running smoothly. But that’s exactly when you should build your crisis communication plan. Waiting until the crisis hits means making critical decisions under pressure without a roadmap. Alexia Poe knows this reality well. With over 30 years of strategic… How to Build a Crisis Communication Plan before You Need One, According to Alexia Poe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":16065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16064"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16067,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16064\/revisions\/16067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Start with the Team<\/b><\/h2>\n
Map Your Potential Scenarios<\/b><\/h2>\n
Build Your Message Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n
Establish Your Communication Channels<\/b><\/h2>\n
Practice Makes Prepared<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Trust You Build Today<\/b><\/h2>\n