Crisis in Organizations II

I own my own business and was encouraged by one of our bankers to read Barton's book. The work is easy to read, well organized and pretty amazingly accurate. In my nine years of running a fairly large company, I've dealt with irate customers, earthquakes, contractors who filed for bankruptcy (mid project!), two serious cases of workplace violence, and assorted other not-so-mild incidents. This book spells out not only what could happen to your company, but what i REALLY loved was reading how other owners and CEO's got their companies out of trouble...and sometimes, how their mistakes made them considerably worse. Barton uses humor, fact, and practical insight to drive home the case for preparedness. I wish there were more photos in the book- those would have made the reading more enjoyable. Yet the case studies and interviews spice the work up very well, and this may be one of the single best books on management I've ever read.

When I saw the author on The Today Show a decade ago, I rushed to buy his book, and I've referred to it dozens of times each year at my job in Los Angeles, CA. To my delight, Dr. Barton has completely updated this book, and it's a joy to read. He examines why corporations in various industries face serious crises more than others, and then supports his arguments with credible, well written analysis. I learned much from the lessons of Coca-Cola's recall last year in Europe; even great brands can misjudge public opinion- and lose hundreds of millions of dollars as a result. I would say the best features of Barton's book are those that reflect on "best practices" in leading companies worldwide. And his new chapters on workplace violence, natural disasters and how to write a crisis management and communication plan all easy to apply, whether you work in public relations, security, human resources or in any position where you supervise people. Since Barton's first edition, he served as Vice President of Communication for Motorola, and I must say that his experience there boosts the practical value of this edition immensely. It's less theory this time, and more "here's the way it is" in writing: I valued his candor about managing downsizing, environmental spills and other serious incidents in the workplace. Barton's bibliography is thinner this time, as he has placed those resources on his web site. But that's a small point. Overall, this remains the single best book on crisis management I've read in a 30 year career spanning the industry. It's a must-read if you are interested in why companies get into serious trouble with the media, stockholders, employees and the public. His book is simply an outstanding read.