Communications and Crisis Management in the Post 9/11 Period

Like many of you, I am deluged today by memories of September 11, 2001.  All my telephones ringing at once.  Neighborhood schools on lockdown.  Huddling on the couch with my family as we watched hours of mind-blowing and life-altering events unfold on television.  On television.  9/11 happened before the advent and ubiquity of social media.  It was pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter, pre-Instagram. 

Today, emergencies, crises and disasters - manmade or natural - occur with a panoply of media available to interlopers and bystanders.  Without a plan for media management and rules set forth by an organization's leadership well in advance, social media may interfere with or complicate life-saving efforts.  I share the wisdom of Bo Mitchell, President of 911 Consulting:

 



 

911 Consulting is the nation's leader in emergency planning and training for workplaces. Founder and President Bo Mitchell, CEM, CPP, CBCP, CAS, CSI-ML, HSEEP, MOAB, CHCM, CHSP, CHS-V, CSSM, CSHM, CFC, CIPS, CSC, CESCO, IAC, TFCT3, CERT, CMC, CHEP, served as Police Commissioner of Wilton, Connecticut for sixteen years.  He retired in 2001 to establish 911 Consulting with the mission to protect people at their workplaces during emergencies.

Take the Next 90 Seconds to Consider Your Safety, Security and Use of Social Media in a Crisis Situation

On the heels of the terrorist attack in London and the excellent piece, Think Before You Tweet in the Wake of an Attack at www.Wired.com, the words of Bo Mitchell, President of 911 Consulting and Former Police Commissioner in Wilton, Connecticut, are echoing in my head.  If you manage a facility, department or business, or if you work or recreate in one, his counsel will resonate with you and may well help you save your own life and the lives of others in an active shooter scenario, terrorist attack or natural disaster.  Here is an excerpt of my recent interview with him: 

 



To see more of Lisa Bernard's interview with Bo Mitchell visit www.SecuriITyBriefs.Blogspot.com.  To host Bo Mitchell at your next conference, telephone Lisa Bernard at (203) 293-4741 or email  LisaBernard@SecuritySpeak.net.

9-1-1. What is Your Emergency ... Action Plan? Business Continuity Plan? Disaster Recovery Plan? An Interview with Bo Mitchell, President of 911 Consulting, Former Police Commissioner, Wilton, CT

Be it a flood, fire or medical emergency, active shooter or terrorist, when lives are at stake, stress levels rise and fear moves in.  We fear injury, loss of life, loss of livelihood, loss of our sense of security.  One man has made it his life’s mission to offer real and practical alternatives to panic and the potential for pandemonium and irrecoverable loss when disasters strike.  Bo Mitchell, President of 911 Consulting and former Police Commissioner of Wilton, Connecticut, offers CEOs, business-owners, managing partners, university presidents, and other heads of enterprises, the opportunity to minimize the risks associated with emergencies, manage them when they occur, communicate efficiently with those who need information and instruction, and bring things back to normal. 
 

  

“Amateurs talk strategy.  Professionals talk logistics.”  That distinction by General Omar N. Bradley echoed in my head as I listened to Bo Mitchell, arguably our nation’s leading private-sector emergency management professional.  In fact, from the cauldron of scary scenarios on the agenda when you speak with him, emerges a calm and reassuring sense of security as his expertise and devotion are revealed.  With twenty-one earned certifications in organizational safety and security, and an encyclopedic knowledge of safety laws, security protocols and emergency procedures, he addressed my followers’ concerns concisely and practically.  I was heartened by his refreshingly apolitical and holistic approach to crisis management.  His no-nonsense style and genial manner put a confident and human face on an otherwise unsettling subject.  I can see why he is called upon as an expert witness in landmark court cases.  It is not simply the depth and breadth of his thirty-plus years of experience in law enforcement, security management and emergency preparedness that makes Bo Mitchell an approachable and reliable leader in this industry.  It is his deep respect for human life and the organizations and reputations we build, his intellectual honesty and his deep regard for details.  He is a realist and a human being.  I hope these excerpts capture all that and offer you an entrée to what needs to be done for your employees, colleagues, customers and stakeholders.

BERNARD:  Since your retirement in 2001 as Commissioner of the Wilton Police Department, how has the nature or landscape of emergencies changed? 



BERNARD:  My blog followers are all around the world, but the majority of them are in and around the tri-state area in the U.S.  What keeps you up at night with regard to emergencies and disasters in our area?  

 


BERNARD:  Reviewing the literature, my impression is that conceptually, Emergency Action Plans, Emergency Management, Business Continuity Plans and Disaster Recovery Plans are overwhelming to think about.  But practically, approaching these plans is actually quite linear, logical and feasible.  Is that a fair assessment?  

BERNARD:  With less than ten per cent of companies in the U.S. having a designated Security Officer, who are the candidates for spearheading Emergency Action Plans and the like?
 

 

BERNARD:  Experts are in agreement that when a crisis occurs, communications must be centralized with one uniform message and one consistent “voice.”  With the proliferation of mobile devices and social media platforms, how can an outfit work to keep individuals in a crisis situation  from reporting updates themselves?

 
BERNARD:  What kind of employee makes a good candidate for spokesperson during a crisis?

 

BERNARD:  Regarding Business Continuity Plans, one thing my followers uniformly express is that they know they need a plan.  What can you share today that will give them the first step or two  towards initiating one?



BERNARD: In a presentation to JP Morgan Chase, you mentioned the substantial costs of litigation and the hefty fees companies pay out when disaster strikes and people are injured or die.  How does having OSHA and other compliant plans offset costs?  Is it because plans and training save lives and there are fewer lawsuits or grounds for litigation?

 

 

BERNARD: Bo Mitchell, I thank you for your service and for educating my clients and followers at Security Briefs on these critical safety and security matters.
 

Terrorism in America: A Reality Check on the Surreal



 

Sunday, the 12^th of June, was surreal.  I was outdoors in the fresh air and morning sunshine reading Holy War on the Home Front: The Secret Islamic Terror Network in the United States in preparation for my interview with its author, Dr. Harvey Wolf Kushner, Director of the Homeland Security and Terrorism Institute at LIU Post.  When I left for work early that morning I had heard about "a shooting" in Orlando.  By lunchtime, I learned that the attack was at an LGBTQ nightclub, had been declared an act of terrorism and the death toll was climbing. News outlets reported that the terrorist declared his allegiance to ISIS at the outset of his rampage.  My heart was racing as I tried frantically to recall where my gay family members said they would be over the weekend.  There were more ironies than I could process, including that I left this book for last in my reading of Dr. Kushner’s publications.  Why?  Because, I reasoned, it was published in 2004 and now it is 2016, and surely things have “changed.”  I would read it – but last and leisurely on the Sunday before the interview.  By the time I got home to hear President Obama’s address to the nation, it was all too clear that Harvey Kushner’s book is still pertinent in 2016.  Words from his Introduction were haunting me, “I chair a department at a university, but I quickly learned that when dealing with terrorists that death is not academic.  Terrorists kill people.  They pull triggers, plant bombs, and blast holes in the NYC skyline.”  

Like so many Americans, I am forlorn and on Tuesday, June 14^th, when I walked into Harvey Kushner’s office, I couldn’t hold back.  “These terrorists are playing ‘soft-target roulette’ with us,” I proffered.  “That’s what’s got us feeling anxious.  The Boston Marathon, San Bernardino, and now Orlando …. We get it.  While we are exercising, recreating, and socializing – precisely to blow off stress – we are actually most vulnerable to opportunistic terrorists.  We don’t need to be flying or on the high seas.  That is what is now so unnerving.”  A genial host and gracious respondent, Harvey Wolf Kushner immediately delivered the perspective available only from one with the breadth and depth of counter-terrorism experience his forty-plus years of service provides.  From the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre, through the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 at Lockerbie, to the mass shooting in Orlando, Harvey Kushner embodies his book, Encyclopedia of Terrorism.  The walls of his office are alive with commendations and warm letters of appreciation for his service from elected officials, representatives of allied governments, those in law enforcement at all levels, as well as branches of the U.S. military and federal agencies. I couldn’t help but note how fortunate his graduate students are to study with him and the notable faculty he has assembled from among the best professionals actively engaged in counter-terrorism. Congress declared his institute a National Security Center of Excellence. 

I asked for twenty minutes but Harvey Kushner gave me a full afternoon of his time as he responded to my questions and the concerns of my followers at Security Briefs.  I left the interview wiser, more insightful and crystal clear on one thing:  Dr. Harvey Wolf Kushner is, and has been, unabashedly devoted to one goal: keeping civilians safe from terrorists. Here are some excerpts. 

BERNARD:  I read in your 2004 book that "[m]ost say even three years after 9/11, the FBI and related federal intelligence and law-enforcement agencies still don't 'download' real-time-information to local agencies."  I am hearing that very same thing in the analyses of the Orlando Massacre in 2016. Is this so and why?

 



BERNARD:  We heard it with the Tsarnaev brothers, Nidal Hasan and now again with Omar Mateen - they "fell off" the FBI's watch list.  How does such a thing happen in the post 9/11 era and what does this portend for "lone wolf" attacks?



 

BERNARD:  My followers at Security Briefs are educators, retail executives, medical professionals, practitioners in law and accounting, clergy, and other concerned citizens who are responsible for other people - their students, clients, customers, congregants and families.  What steps can they take to make their workplaces and social spaces are more secure?
 

 

BERNARD:  In a Q&A Session with former Newtown Chief of Police, Michael Kehoe, I heard him underscore the importance for local law enforcement to maintain "informal" communication with first responders and emergency management professionals at all levels - county, state and federal.  In short, you need your crisis management allies to be just a cell-phone call away.  Your reaction?

 

BERNARD:  Many of my followers at Security Briefs are professionals in human resources, law, the military, financial services, IT, etc., who are considering applying their expertise in a different capacity in the next phases of their careers.  Others are parents of college-bound kids considering their first-career options.  What are the job and career prospects for those interested in counter-terrorism?





 

BERNARD:  In seven months, we Americans will inaugurate a new President and Commander-in-Chief.  What guidelines would you offer her or him?



 

 

BERNARD:  Harvey Kushner, it is good to know you. Thank you for your service and for your thoughts and candor this afternoon.

 

Lisa Bernard is Founder and President of Lisa Bernard's SecuritySpeak, LLC, a speakers bureau devoted to educating people from all walks of life on matters of national, global and cyber-security.  To discuss your need for a guest speaker, contact her at LisaBernard@SecuritySpeak.net or via phone at (203) 293-4741.