This economic crisis is getting progressively worse.  We’re reaching the equivalent of DEFCON 2 but there are only a few signs that businesses are ready for what this crisis is going to do to our society.

The point was driven home when I watched an eye-opening video on Huffington Post from MSNBC. Joe Scarborough, Pat Buchanan and Mike Barnicle interviewed Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski about his new book he wrote with Brent Scowcroft, and David Ignatius – America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy. 

The possibility of class conflict in America is no longer a figment of imagination spread by the far left.  If Pat Buchanan sees it coming, something has changed drastically.  With millions and millions of unemployed “…there is this public awareness of the extraordinary wealth that has been transferred to a few individuals… at levels without historical precedence in America,” said Dr. Brzezinski.  These individuals are, of course, a few business executives who decided to get or, sometimes, loot what they could, tarnishing everybody with the same accusations.

And yet, there is neither a sense of urgency nor an attempt on the part of executives to differentiate themselves from their tarnished brethren.  A recent headline in The Times, “Bankers say sorry – but plead not guilty,” summed up the problem. The interesting part about these apologies, to PR professionals, was the fact that lawyers helped to phrase them. I’m not suggesting cheap spin and mindless excuses.  If transgressions were made, then take responsibility. Don’t tell me somebody wasn’t responsible for billions of pounds disappearing into thin air – just read comments from the British public at the end of the online article.  The response also begs a question: where was the executives’ PR counsel?

Few, if any, executives are prepared to respond to the current crisis to protect their reputations.  The usual crisis communications is not going to do it.  Understanding what got us into it and a well-thought-out plan of action for the new normal will separate winners from losers in the next round.

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