KingsBridge Blog

The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a horrible natural disaster that the area might never recover from…  This much is known.  So many people have asked why we haven’t written anything on our blog about it and why we aren’t using it when it comes to business interruption scenarios.  The answer is simple, it is such a massive incident that most people can’t wrap their heads around it and would simply say “we aren’t a petroleum company, so it doesn’t apply”.  While that is true, I was reading an article today on the fact that BP share prices have dropped for the second day in a row.  Half way down this article, there is a perfect Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery piece that ties back to handling the media that has been written about here and here.  Read the following and see how it all ties together:

On the corporate front, BP shareholders would prefer to sacrifice the company’s Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg rather than CEO Hayward over the ongoing crisis, the Times of London reported in its Wednesday edition.

Citing an unidentified person close to the British company, the Times said shareholders had more confidence in Hayward’s ability to supervise BP’s response to the crisis than Svanberg, who has been largely invisible.

“The mood within the company and among shareholders is clear — they are supportive of Tony, who they feel has done his best in a very bad situation, but they are unimpressed by Svanberg,” the London newspaper reported the person as saying.

A BP spokesman dismissed the claims that former Ericsson boss Svanberg, who took over the role of chairman in January, would consider stepping down.

All of this is taking place against the backdrop of rising public anger and an unfolding ecological catastrophe.

This means, that not only will BP loose an immense amount of money, but they might also loose their Chairman during the darkest hours of their existence.  This leads to managing public perception and ensuring you (or your company) don’t fall prey to the hounds in the media.  You will notice that during this excerpt, there is no mention of “who” was decided to be the face of the issue, no mention of “why” the CEO would speak instead of the Chairman and now “an unidentified person” is kicking the Chairman to the curb.

How does this impact my company?

When you are doing your planning (or recovery), make sure your highest-ranking official is either the face of the incident or clearly state what they are doing to save the company (running operations, meeting with shareholders, meeting with clients/suppliers).  It is very likely the Chairman Svanberg is a better business person and will be better for running the recovery of BP.  If they are largely “invisible” as mentioned above, they and possibly your company will meet the same fate.

For the full article read more at: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/shares+tumble+government+probes+Gulf+spill/3131036/story.html#ixzz0qNGWPOd7

About KingsBridge

KingsBridge offers private businesses and government organizations a unique combination of industry knowledge and cost-effective disaster recovery / business continuity solutions. KingsBridge products and seminars provide the tools to assess possible threats and create tailored plans which mitigate risks and minimize losses in the event of a disruption to business. Kingsbridge is headquartered in Ogdensburg, New York, with offices in Ottawa, Canada and Burlington, Vermont. For more information visit us at www.DisasterRecovery.com