Jan 2, 2019 · 27m · a16z
a16z Podcast | Crisis Time -- What to Do When Things Go Sideways
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In this episode of the a16z Podcast, crisis management experts Judy Smith and Margit Wennmachers discuss strategic approaches for corporations and leaders navigating unexpected brand-threatening events. The discussion covers proactive crisis preparation, transparent digital communications, authentic corporate apologies, executive accountability, and post-crisis evaluations.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The host as informed peer 2.1 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 0.5 The host pushing back 0.5
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 20:45 Deflecting Sony question
When Michael Copeland probes Judy about her confidential work on the Sony case, Margit interjects with 'Nice try, Michael' and Judy redirects the conversation to Target.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 20:45 Host probing confidential client workMichael Copeland tries to push past generalities by specifically asking Judy about her reported involvement in the Sony hack.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:38 Facts aren't built for TwitterMargit reframes the host's inquiry on fast response times by explaining that true facts take time to gather and are fundamentally not built for Twitter speed.
The host holds their own ▶ 9:14 Journalist perspective on no commentMichael Copeland steps beyond passive hosting by citing his own career experience as a journalist to challenge the notion of withholding comment suppression.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preparing for a Crisis and Establishing Company Culture | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Michael Copeland asks foundational questions about crisis preparation and culture without pushing back. Judy Smith and Margit Wennmachers outline statistics on crisis plans and emphasize transparent internal culture over static planning. | |
| Gathering Facts and Assessing Intent When Crisis Strikes | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Copeland prompts the guests on how to handle the initial moments of a crisis and truthiness. Margit and Judy explain how they assess whether a client truly wants to improve or just make the problem vanish. | |
| Managing Communication Speed, Social Media, and Trolls | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Copeland draws on his background as a journalist to note how reporters hate 'no comment'. Judy and Margit educate him on how facts take time and how to filter out internet trolls versus actual key constituents. | |
| Delivering Authentic Apologies and CEO Responsibilities | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | The host asks about the mechanics and authenticity of corporate apologies. Judy and Margit detail the need for sincere single apologies and the role of the CEO when core values are hit. | |
| Individual vs. Corporate Crises and the Jawbone Case Study | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Copeland shares his direct knowledge of reporting on Jawbone's hardware failure when Margit brings it up as a case study. The guests contrast corporate product second chances with individual personal scandals. | |
| Communication Styles and the Shift from Top-Down PR | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | The host asks if early stage startups can copy Apple's secretive PR posture. Margit explains that top-down, single-channel PR is largely dead in the modern multi-channel era. | |
| Handling Cybersecurity Breaches and Disclosure Strategies | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Copeland attempts to press Judy on her confidential involvement with the Sony hack, which Judy and Margit deflect before discussing corporate cybersecurity disclosure trends. Judy notes that consumers already assume their data isn't fully safe. | |
| Post-Mortems and the Importance of Outside Advisors | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Copeland asks about post-mortems and mentions Enron as an example of an internal echo chamber. Margit and Judy explain why external advisors are necessary to speak unvarnished truth to leadership. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Margit Wennmachers: Unresolved crises cause permanent loss of trust and sales
“It's sort of like, what do people think of you Today, and then all of a sudden you find yourself in a situation where if you don't resolve this well, they'll never think of you in the same way ever after, and are unlikely to believe you or buy your product.”
Margit Wennmachers: Twitter's early 'fail whale' outages became a monetization crisis
“It can be as simple as a site outage that is persistent, you know, Twitter back in the way, in the day with a fail whale, right, that, that ends up being a crisis because your product fundamentally doesn't work, and you can't monetize as a result.”
Judy Smith: Crisis plans boost company recovery rates by 75 to 80%
“The kind of research that we do shows that anywhere between 75 and 80% of the companies That do have plans that their likelihood of recovery is higher.”
Margit Wennmachers: Transparent corporate culture speeds up crisis recovery
“I think I would say there's the plan, which I would encourage everyone to create one, even if it goes out the window the minute something happens, but there's also the cultural component, because often in a crisis, there's a lot of hiding under the desk and de…”
Judy Smith: Fearful corporate cultures exacerbate crises
“If you have a culture where people don't feel confident and feel free to tell the truth and to voice their opinions, when a crisis or problem happens that is going to make it much worse.”
Margit Wennmachers: Most leaders insincerely claim they want crises to improve companies
“I think most people say, yeah, of course we want to make the company better all the time, but they don't need it.”
Judy Smith: Corporate silence in a crisis lets third parties dictate narrative
“The, because the issue is a lot of times when you are not filling that void with information, somebody else is going to plug that hole for you.”
Margit Wennmachers: Fact-gathering takes time, conflicting with Twitter's real-time demands
“The problem with crises, and the problem with facts, is they weren't built for Twitter. Facts tend to take time.”
Margit Wennmachers: Crisis non-engagement makes the public assume you are lying
“And if you don't engage, people just think you're hiding. People think you're hiding, they tend to think you're lying.”
Margit Wennmachers: If you must eat shit during an apology, don't nibble
“If you're going to eat shit, Don't nibble. If the company's made a big mistake, or if you've made a personal mistake, and you're going to go admit it, don't make that one short little sentence, and then walk off the stage.”
Judy Smith: PR spokespersons lack authority to deliver core corporate crisis apologies
“I think if it's something that goes in direct relationship to the core of the company something like GM you would want to see the CEO out there apologizing and owning that and making sure that, that CEO is communicating what they're going to do differently. So…”
Margit Wennmachers: Reserve CEO public statements until full crisis facts are known
“I think I would, quote unquote, save the CEO for when you actually know the facts and you know the plan versus have the CEO the day to day, like, look, we're still looking into it. You know, that's just a waste of time because that person is also going to be v…”
Margit Wennmachers: Successful apologies require doing it once, completely, and personally
“When the actual moment is you, as Judy said, you want to do it once, but You want to tell it all, and you want to tell it yourself, right? Those are sort of the three rules, and then you have an opportunity to move on.”
Margit Wennmachers: The top-down PR strategy embodied by Steve Jobs is over
“This very sort of top down, you know, one channel out going to the masses that Steve Jobs embodied, I think to a large degree is over because we just have too many channels, too many constituents, and you know, there's Twitter, there's, you know, that is just …”
Margit Wennmachers: Companies will proactively communicate cybersecurity strategy in core messaging
“I actually think we're going to come full circle, and I think companies will be out in front, and they're going to talk about their security strategy. They're going to admit that there's no such thing as 100% foolproof security, but they are going to make that…”
Margit Wennmachers: Security product buyers still insist on keeping security setups secret
“So through the lens of the portfolio companies, we have quite a few who sell security products. I have not seen a change in stance from their customer base. I think there's still sort of, you know, we want to keep that stuff secret.”
Margit Wennmachers: Crisis teams fail with too many lawyers and PR people
“Because I think in many cases you kind of have a crisis team, but you don't always have all the right people on the team, right? You often, sometimes you have too many lawyers or too many PR people or too many people who tell you what you want to hear, right?”