It’s always the good side of the story we want. The hero in a movie filled with villains. Riches to rags story-with you as the main character-to inspire your peers. A side where flowers are thrown at you, as you walk on the red carpet, graced by a standing ovation, photo sessions and ultimately your face appearing on the cover of Forbes magazine. This is a perfect ending indeed.  But just take a moment and ask yourself what if?

(Crisis: Image source-Google images)

Steven Fink, ‘a crisis is an unstable time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending.’

The life we live is made up of two extremes. Good and bad. That is life, period. And this reality not only applies to our personal lives, but to the companies we work for as well.

What if one morning you find that you made the news: Scores feared dead after eating poisoned food. Mark you, the food was from your hotel. A plane crashes and kills everyone on board - a drunk pilot perhaps. Funds meant for a community initiative are embezzled to the last dime - attracting media attention. What if?

During such trying times, and they do come, the only sure remedy lies within the Communications and or Public Relations (PR) department. Pay-offs as most management executives like doing doesn't clear the air. It only freezes the issue until there is enough heat to thaw it. Then we are back at it again.

However, a well formulated and executed crisis communication plan (CCP) will and has always helped erase the past.

Crisis communication (CC) is hardly ever mentioned but truth be told-any company with a vision to grow needs this. As much as crisis communication experts may appear as angels of doom, let it be known, they are the bridge to the future. For who knows about tomorrow? Only God does.

Crises exist in almost every situation we involve ourselves in. According to Steven Fink, ‘a crisis is an unstable time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending.’ It is a relief if it doesn't happen. But it’s there, lurking, until when someone makes the mistake of pushing the door wide open. Even the best of moments are potential hubs of crises. Let it be known.

For instance, Jesus will come for a second time; to some it will be jubilation day. To others it will mark the beginning of a crisis. This is a time when sinners will reckon the words of the good book. They will make their petitions (Crisis Communication Plans) to Jesus (The PR Director) to save their souls. Whichever way we decide to look at it, a well-executed CCP will save the day, souls and the reputation and lifeline of our companies.

Coming back to reality-the Communications or PR department at Mumias Sugar Company (MSC) must be having a rough time. Who wouldn't?  Massive debts owed to suppliers; farmers opting to stop growing sugarcane on their fields. And when we thought it wouldn't get any worse - Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) has plans to set-up a million dollar Sugar Company in Turkana County. On other news stories, the county government of Kakamega has plans to set-up a tea factory in the same county. Is this too huge a blow for one company? Well, yes!

Additionally, according to the People newspaper; Butali Sugar Company in Kakamega County again, was closed down after a meeting to resolve prices of cane between growers and the company management failed. Is this a crisis? Again, yes!

On 12/08/2013 Kenya Airways lost 340M in revenues, following a fire at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in a statement that was released by the C.E.O. Typical aftermath of a crisis.

It’s happening all round us. To companies and worse of all the county governments which we have banked a large check - improved lives! Where will our help come from - look to the mountains. Whether we are not in the middle of it all - it’s not a relief. One crisis causes ripple effects which will be felt by that villager in the remotest of places.

In PR we like to use bench-marking as an operational frame work. By learning and studying past occurrences, we better our scope with regards to preparation and execution of our plans. Both presently and in the near future. From the cases I have just sighted it is imperative that we get something going. We should arm our companies and county governments just in case we wake up one morning only to find the world is not as we had left it the previous night.

To avoid soiling the company’s reputation or making such huge losses to the tune of millions - it all starts with an operational crisis communication plan. In the event it happens, it’s what comes next that matters.

So go ahead and prepare that crisis communication plan today. Have it tucked away in one of your folders on your computer or shelf. Who knows about tomorrow? Certainly not us. I will say this for free, nothing is as good as a crisis that is averted. But in the likelihood that it gets us, let if find us armed and ready with a CCP.

The writer is a Communication and Public Relations practitioner, working with Property Link Africa, Kenya.

odenyo09@gmail.com