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CrisisCrises are unavoidable. An experienced hand steers you through.

To successfully respond to a crisis you can prepare, respond and recover. Focusing on what’s within your control mitigates risk and minimizes damage. Navigator provides strategic advice to boards, executives, and individuals. Our approach prioritizes proactive planning and decisive action rooted in transparency and authenticity. But if you haven’t had time to plan, we’ll help you manage the crisis and find a way forward. Don’t let negativity define you. We help you lead through adversity.

Planning and preparedness

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Planning preserves crucial decision-making capacity and allows you to respond to issues before they escalate into front page crises. In the middle of a crisis is no time to decide how you are going to decide. It only takes one mistake to realize there are bottom line operating, competitive and reputational costs attached to the failure to fully integrate crisis communication into your enterprise risk management plan.

Navigator specializes in working with clients to proactively identify areas of risk and develop contingency plans before crisis strikes. We work with you to formalize prescriptive action-oriented processes, roles and responsibilities, and enduring messaging. And once a plan is in place, we work with your team to build the muscle memory to execute with regularized crisis tabletop exercises and simulated media training.

Issue management and mitigation

Stress leads to bad decisions. That’s not subjective. It’s science. Physiological changes lead to binary choices: limiting, narrowing and simplifying our options. Our team’s experience and counsel, trusted by CEOs and parliamentarians, affords you new perspective, bringing alternatives and opportunities to the table.

Mismanaged crises negatively impact customer relationships, the cost of capital, employee morale, productivity and the ability to recruit and retain talent, and may lead to increased regulatory oversight, penalties and criminal proceedings. Once compromised, trust and reputation are costly to reclaim. That’s why we are available 24/7, to consider course and take action, communicate clearly and handle media scrutiny. When you’re at risk, Navigator is in your corner. We afford you the benefit of professional crisis response that balances your business objectives with legal and reputational jeopardies.

Special situations

In every crisis there is opportunity. Will you be ready to act? After all, news travels fast and bad news travels faster. Always with severe consequences, and always when the stakes are highest. When opportunity arises, our clients depend on our guidance and support to seize the day.

A lie can make it halfway around the world before the truth can put its pants on. Our team partners directly with boards and c-suite executives to create stakeholder engagement strategies that properly frame the story. Whether it’s the poison pen letter, accounting issues, a data or cybersecurity breach, bankruptcy, restructuring, factory collapse, or product recall, we work with you to formulate crisp messaging, handle media inquiries and provide media training.

Reputation recovery

Once the crisis has passed, the difficult work begins.

After the headlines, scrums, and scrutiny, it’s time to rebuild trust, engage with stakeholders, fulfill commitments and define what comes next. Navigator specializes in developing strategies that effectively address your biggest vulnerabilities head-on.

Learn more about our Reputation practice.