Top Eight Ways to Optimize an Intent-Based Network Implementation

Mellanox published a great blog entitled “How to Make Your Leaf/Spine Network Hum.” As I read this blog I realized that the recommendations were aligned incredibly well with features of an Intent-Based Network implementation. In short, an Intent-Based Network implementation enables simple data center automation, rapid deployments, reduced OpEx, and multi-vendor lifecycle management for leaf-spine networks. Next, I’ll highlight the features of an Intent-Based Network implementation in the context of the eight tune-ups mentioned in Mellanox’s blog post.

Florida’s Red Tide Fueled By Sewage

Wastewater Treatment Plants Dumping Sewage On Farms, Open Space

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for seven counties in Southwest Florida over an unusually severe red tide outbreak. Unfortunately, red tide is now another symptom of sewage mismanagement on land. Florida, like most states, now thinks of sewage as fertilizer.

Red tide, which scientists call a harmful algae bloom, is partly caused by a naturally occurring alga (a plant-like microorganism) called Karenia brevis or K. brevis. When K. brevis appears in large quantities – typically in the Gulf of Mexico – it can turn ocean water red, brown or green. K. brevis is fueled by some of the harmful toxins that it encounters in the ocean, much of which comes from sewage and surface water runoff from cities and rural areas alike. The toxins absorbed by red tide can impact the nervous systems of fish, birds and mammals (including humans).

Ironically, at least one form of agriculture fertilizer also attacks the nervous system-human sewage. Some health advocates believe that water runoff from these farms and dumping sites are fueling the red tide and the rise in neurodegenerative disease around the world.

Red tides are not unusual in the Gulf of Mexico and the western coast of Florida. The strong smell; eye, nose, and throat irritation; and large fish kills related to the event have been documented as far back as the 1840s. Red tides are caused by tiny algae that grow on the surface of the ocean, occasionally giving it a reddish-brown tint. Thus, scientists can use satellite imagery to map the extent of red tides and monitor how they spread over time. Satellites detect changes in the way the sea surface reflects light. These changes can be linked to concentrations of chlorophyll, showing where algae and other ocean plants are concentrated in the ocean.

In his declaration, Gov. Scott’s office made two points: The state is supporting communities struggling with the scourge, and in an attempt to defend the agriculture industry he said that the siege of seafaring microorganisms is “naturally occurring.” Unfortunately, the problem and the solution aren’t that simple.

The declaration will provide money and resources to address a problem that’s lingered since October in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.

At 10 months, the current bloom is testing the resilience of communities and the priorities of government. Red tides have lasted as long as 24-months in southwestern Florida since the turn of the century. The frequency and the duration of these deadly tides appears to be rising.

Indeed, scientists and historians note fish kills triggered by the infestations dating back as early as the 1500s. While scientists today acknowledge the natural roots of Florida’s red tides, they also are investigating the possibility that persistent blooms, like the one besetting the Gulf Coast this summer, might be getting a “booster shot” from man-made pollutants that spill into the ocean.

Both the coastal red tide and the inland blue-green algae have beset South Florida through the summer, killing vast numbers of fish and other wildlife, including dozens of dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, sharks and eels. Humans also have been sickened by brevetoxins, which are emitted by the tiny organisms – karenia brevis – that create the red tide. Breathing the fallout can constrict the lungs’ bronchioles and send asthmatics to emergency rooms with coughs and shortness of breath.

Scott last month declared an emergency because of the blue-green algae bloom that began in giant Lake Okeechobee, before spreading to multiple rivers and canals. 

The declaration helped pave the way for assistance, including the deployment of biologists and other scientists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to rescue wildlife and to clear away the innumerable creatures that could not be saved.

Along with Scott’s action comes a $900,000 grant to Lee County, home to Fort Myers and the epicenter of the red tide, to help cope with the cleanup. That brings the total amount granted to the county, where some tourists have cut short their summer vacations, to $1.3 million.

Another $500,000 will go to Visit Florida, so the agency can support local tourism officials in mounting a campaign to try to bring visitors back to the red tide zone – which stretches more than 100 miles from Sarasota nearly to the tip of the state.

“We will continue to deploy all state resources and do everything possible to make sure that Gulf Coast residents are safe and area businesses can recover,” Scott said in a statement.

The red tide initially tends to thrive in low-nutrient environments, where it does not have to compete with other organisms. But when the blooms take hold and move closer to shore, they can thrive on nitrogen and other elements that could be fueled by pollution.

One researcher recalled his recent sampling trip along the coast, seeing the pollutants that brought the blue-green algae to the Caloosahatchee River spill into the Gulf just a couple miles from where the red tide exploded, near Fort Myers.

“It seems pretty damned obvious there is a connection,” Mitsch said, adding a cautionary note: “But that doesn’t mean there actually is one. That is why we are investigating. We have to dig deeper.”

Farming fertilizers already are blamed for fueling another Florida plague – the blue-green algae that chokes inland lakes, rivers and canals in the south part of the state, including giant Lake Okeechobee. This farm runoff also includes tons of human sewage, which has been pawned off on farmers as fertilizer since the early 1990s. Wastewater treatment plants throughout the east and southeast are paying farmers and other managers of open space, including golf courses, parks and playgrounds, to dump this toxic, infectious waste (biosolids). Florida and other states in the southeast get more than their share. It’s killing more than fish.

Such a finding likely would reinvigorate calls for greater regulation of the prime source of the pollutants -agricultural runoff from sugar cane and other farms in South Florida.

Read The Full Story About Florida’s red Tide

Crossbow is an award-winning and record-setting communications firm. We influence public opinion, public policy and business decisions around the world. We’re helping stakeholders tackle some of the most urgent issues of our time.

Colombians Sue Government To Protect Amazon Rainforest

National Peace Unleashed War On Forests

By Naomi Larsson, Huffington Post

Arvey Alvear Daza’s life has been dominated by fear for most of his 37 years. A farmer in Caquetá, a district in southern Colombia, his land on the northwestern edge of the Amazon rainforest placed him in the middle of a decades-long conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the Colombian government.

“You were aware of things that happened to people ― dying, disappeared, being hurt,” Alvear Daza says. “We had to exist one way or another and learn to survive, to live day by day.”

Like thousands of those who lived in the rebel-occupied countryside, his movements were dictated by the guerrillas ― from having curfews imposed on his working day to rigid restrictions on the size of his farm so the forest cover would protect the FARC from government air raids.

Two years ago, things began to change. Colombia signed a historic peace deal with the FARC, ending a 52-year civil war that saw about 260,000 people killed and millions more displaced. Alvear Daza says he feels a sense of calm after so many years of turmoil.

Unfortunately, this transition has had other consequences. In two years of post-conflict Colombia, a large power vacuum has formed in vast rural areas where the guerrillas relinquished control, leaving previously inaccessible areas vulnerable to destruction. Record levels of deforestation have followed, driven ― in part, at least, experts say ― by armed groups illegally clearing forests to grow cash crops, such as coca.

In response, a group of young Colombians sued the government at the start of the year, stating that its failure to reduce deforestation threatens their fundamental rights, including their rights to a healthy environment, food and water.

These issues are all interconnected when it comes to deforestation. On a local level, the loss of tree cover drives soil erosion, making land less fertile, clogging waterways with sediment and worsening flooding. Globally, rainforests do a vital job of absorbing carbon, preventing greenhouse gases from accumulating in the atmosphere and warming the planet. Once the trees are cut down, however, they release the stored carbon, accelerating climate change. Deforestation is believed to be responsible for about 10 percent of heat-trapping global emissions.

 

Colombia lost more than 1.04 million acres of tree cover in 2017, according to the latest data published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) ― a 46 percent rise in deforestation from 2016, which was more than double the rate of loss from 2001 to 2015.

WRI says land speculation and the illegal clearing of forests for coca, mining and logging by armed groups that have emerged since the civil war ended has contributed to this dramatic increase in tree cover loss. The government’s foreign investment push has only intensified this scramble for land, according to a recent report by Global Witness, an international nongovernmental organization.

Forest clearance is out of control, says Carolina Gómez of the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, which monitors the health of Colombia’s biodiversity.

“In some regions, we have documented some of the highest deforestation rates for Colombia in its history,” she told HuffPost. “It is very sad. Before, the guerrillas were very strict in the use of natural resources, so places had some protection. The government should have continued doing that, but now there’s nobody there.”

In central Bogotá, just a few streets away from a polluted, traffic-heavy main avenue, some of the 25 plaintiffs who brought the deforestation claim against the government meet up ― bright-eyed young men and women talking animatedly about Colombia’s environmental future.

They are in the airy offices of Dejusticia, a research and advocacy organization that coordinated the group’s lawsuit in its desire to do something practical to hold the government to its international commitments to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Inspired by similar cases led by young people in Europe and the U.S., Dejusticia sought out those living in Colombian cities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change who were actively interested in protecting the environment, and asked them to be part of the lawsuit.

“We’re the first generation to live in peace in Colombia, but we are destroying our most biodiverse ecosystem,” says 26-year-old Gabriela Eslava, a lawyer for Dejusticia and one of the plaintiffs.

Those involved in the lawsuit acknowledge the tensions in appearing to link the FARC with land conservation. “We didn’t want to make the impression that we were pro-war,” says 26-year-old Valentina Rozo, one of the plaintiffs who lives in Bogotá. “We never wanted to thank the guerrillas, but it was clear that we had to show that paradox […] to make it clear that it was the government’s fault.”

Read The Full Story About Colombia and Amazon Rainforest Conservation

Sacred Seedlings is a global initiative to support forest conservation, reforestation, urban forestry, carbon capture, sustainable agriculture and wildlife conservation. It supports the vision of local stakeholders. We have projects ready across Africa. We seek additional projects elsewhere around the world. We also seek volunteers, sponsors and donors of cash and in-kind support. Write to Gary Chandler for more information gary@crossbow1.com

Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting Expand Team – For Immediate Release

Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting Launch Strategic Partnership with ControlScan to Help PFs Easily Tackle PCI

Payment Facilitators Have Reduced PCI Scope by as Much as 96%

DENVER (August 21, 2018) – Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting announce a strategic partnership with ControlScan to help ensure data security within the payment facilitator ecosystem.

Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting help to simplify the process of becoming a payment facilitator, which often involves implementing strong risk management, compliance, and underwriting policies and procedures. As the safety and security of the entire payments system is of vital importance, offering trusted guidance for PCI compliance has never been more important.

ControlScan, a leader in managed security and compliance solutions that help secure networks and protect payment card data, will offer a complementary PCI DSS consultation to Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting clients. In the payment facilitator ecosystem, compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is required of the payment facilitator as well as their sub-merchants.

During the ControlScan consultation, clients will talk with a PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) to understand their business’s unique scope of compliance as well as ways they can more quickly and easily achieve compliance. ControlScan will also provide guidance on the risk associated with the unique processing environment(s) being implemented (or contemplated) by the payment facilitator.

ControlScan notes that identifying payment facilitators’ potential for PCI scope reduction up-front helps demystify the compliance process as well as reduce fear and uncertainty surrounding payment security in general. In recent consulting engagements, ControlScan has helped payment facilitators achieve a PCI scope reduction of as much as 96%.

In addition to the consultation, Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting clients can leverage the ControlScan partnership to become a Level 1 PCI Compliant Service Provider, implement a PCI program across their sub-merchant base, and more. Payment facilitators can also choose a combination program of PCI and security best practices, or just security best practices, based on their risk environment.

“The payment facilitator ecosystem continues to grow exponentially. It is estimated that payment facilitators will generate more than half a trillion dollars in gross payment volume (GPV) by 2021, representing $4.4 billion in their net revenue,” said Todd Ablowitz, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Double Diamond Group. “Having a strategic partnership with ControlScan and being able to offer their world-class PCI compliance services to our client base is a huge win and will be an incredible value for our clients.”

“Protecting the payment facilitator ecosystem from the bad guys is all of our responsibility especially protecting credit and debit card information, and PCI compliance is a big component of that protection,” said Deana Rich, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Rich Consulting.

“PCI compliance is a necessity, but it’s not always straightforward for payment facilitators and their sub-merchants,” said Chris Bucolo, Vice President of Market Strategy for ControlScan. “This strategic partnership is an excellent match, because it helps put PayFac businesses on a well-informed path to data security success.”

About

Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting have partnered since 2012 to offer a full suite of consulting services to companies interested in the payment facilitator model. The advisory firms offer powerful insights into risk management, underwriting and compliance, as well as deep business knowledge and operational execution for SaaS-based companies, ISOs, acquirers, banks, regulators and other payment organizations around the world. The companies were founded by payments industry veterans, Todd Ablowitz and Deana Rich, who have unparalleled knowledge and experience working with this revolutionary payments strategy that is rapidly changing the payments landscape. Rich Consulting and Double Diamond Group are wholly owned brands of DoubleRich, Inc.

ControlScan managed security and compliance solutions help secure networks and protect payment card data. Our “We’ve Got Your Back” promise supports thousands of companies by combining deep-seated expertise with superior technologies for services such as managed UTM firewall, network log monitoring and management, and advanced endpoint security. Processors, acquirers, ISOs and payment facilitators also utilize our strategic PCI compliance programs to reduce portfolio risk and strengthen merchant relationships. Headquartered in Atlanta, ControlScan is globally connected through a worldwide base of customers, partners and strategic alliances. Our team has over 25 industry certifications, and ControlScan is a certified Level 1 compliant PCI-DSS Service Provider. For more information about our company and its solutions, please visit ControlScan.com.

###

Contact:

Greg Myers

Greg@doublediamondgroup.com

+1 (214) 738-0406

ControlScan Contact here:

Stacey Holleran

sholleran@controlscan.com

+1 (678) 279-2645

The post Double Diamond Group and Rich Consulting Expand Team – For Immediate Release appeared first on Double Diamond Group.

How To Avoid A Public Relations Crisis

Aversion, Honesty Key To Crisis Communications

No business likes to enter crisis mode. As a leader, you may not know how to respond to tough questions and negative media coverage. You can add insult to injury by making misstep after misstep in your actions and statements. You may overspeak and provide a comment that just seems to rub your customers the wrong way. No matter what you do, it isn’t working, and it just gets worse with each move. Handling a PR crisis correctly as a leader can make a difference in whether your business with minimal damage.

Crisis aversion is the most important element of crisis management. Organizations owe it to themselves, stakeholders and stockholders to anticipate worst case scenarios and avoid them. Of course, aversion and planning only go so far. So don’t lose sight of your compass and conscience when you enter unchartered territory–also known as crisis communications.

Below, members of Forbes Coaches Council provide some of the things that we can learn from handling a crisis incorrectly and how you can avoid making the same mistakes:

1. Listen To Your Team: A crisis is usually considered handled incorrectly when a leader goes rogue and does their own thing without consulting their team. A leader who doesn’t listen to their team will always be blamed when they don’t consult others first. By listening to input and experiences of others on the team, joint decisions can be made and the company will be much more likely to rally around the CEO.

<img data-attachment-id="162" data-permalink="http://crossbowcommunications.com/public-relations-firm-phoenix-denver/befunky_5-jpg/" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?fit=600%2C480" data-orig-size="600,480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="crisis communications" data-image-description="

public relations and crisis communications

” data-medium-file=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?fit=300%2C240″ data-large-file=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?fit=600%2C480″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-162″ src=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?resize=600%2C480″ alt=”stakeholder relations and communications” width=”600″ height=”480″ srcset=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?w=600 600w, https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?resize=300%2C240 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px” data-recalc-dims=”1″ />

2. Take Responsibility And Apologize: We see, time and time again, CEOs who excuse, equivocate, or give halfhearted and completely insensitive apologies. The primary thing you should do as a CEO is take responsibility and make a full apology, which includes what you will do to make amends for what has happened and what you will do differently in the future. Be honest, be vulnerable, and don’t be afraid to show emotion.

3. Tell The Truth: Transparency is key when dealing with a crisis. So many CEO try to hide the mistakes that they or the company have made for fear of losing profit. But when the truth comes out, they lose much more than profits, they lose reputation and brand value. People want to buy from companies they trust and can believe in. Profit and brand values go up when transparency is real.

4. Reflect And Practice: There is no shortage of examples of CEOs who have made mistakes when handling a crisis. Company leaders can learn from this by reflecting on the ones that could impact them, then think about how they would have handled the situation differently. They should also anticipate the “hurricanes on their horizon” then ensure the proper process to handle a crisis is in place in the event it ever surfaces.

5. Create A Diverse Crisis Response Team: When responding to a crisis, it is important for an organization to see the issue from different perspectives before responding. Employing a diverse crisis response team will ensure that your message is not tone deaf to the issue or the community affected by the incident.

6. Discuss, Correct, Move Forward: Any wise company leader will know that mistakes are inevitable – the only thing they can do is make sure that big decisions have been discussed among the experts in the company and that decisions have not been taken autocratically. If the entire group makes a wrong decision, it will be a lesson learned. Take corrective action and move on. You have nothing then else but to live and learn.

7. Take Responsibility, Be Accountable: Trust comes from meeting expectations. When executives ask, “What should we do?” they create a self-referential frame and become self-protective, doing and saying things that make them feel less bad. Instead, they should ask, “What would reasonable people appropriately expect a responsible company to do when facing this kind of situation?” Doing what reasonable people appropriately expect causes trust to remain or to increase.

8. Remember Communication Is Key: When handling a crisis, leaders must communicate. Remember the ABCs of communication: accuracy, barriers and context. The message that is shared must be truthful and provided with only the facts. Leaders must keep in mind the barriers to communication, which include the length of the message and the method by which it is delivered. The context represents the situation in which it is delivered.

9. Build Trust In Advance: Companies often wait until a crisis to take care of fundamentals that should be already established with customers/clients. When I was advertising for a large quick-service restaurant and there was fear of mad cow disease coming from Europe, we preemptively developed a campaign about the quality of the food. So, understand how you can build trust with your customers/clients and start right away.

10. Be Prepared For A Crisis: Leaders take the time to prepare for everything, from acquisitions and mergers to cocktail parties, but one area that sometimes gets overlooked is crisis. One of the best ways to prepare for a crisis is to simulate possible crisis scenarios and practice responses until you feel ready. Practice until you are truly ready for that “news camera in your face” moment and others agree that you are ready.

11. Get The Facts Before You Act: In the midst of an organizational crisis, executives make a bad situation worse by speaking out before they know the facts. Although in a crisis everything seems to move at the speed of light and every stakeholder is demanding action to be taken immediately, systematic decision-making is never more important. Executives should acknowledge that the situation is of high priority and give full attention to the collection of the facts.

12. Demonstrate Empathy: A grievous mistake that CEOs make during times of crisis is to express concerns only about maintaining shareholder value. Although the business should be top of mind, the outward expression of caring about one’s business is caring about its employees. A case in point is BP’s CEO who did not immediately empathize with the fallen employees and their families, leaving BP with a tarnished environmental, business and people record.

13. Understand The Power Of Press And Community: You’ve seen the ugliness that can happen after a CEO handles a crisis incorrectly. This type of negative press intensifies the damage already done and can sometimes leave a permanent mark on his/her reputation. One thing CEOs must learn is that even with all the power and influence they possess in their personal careers, the press is very powerful and “turning off” their communities can prove very damaging.

14. Highlight The Crisis: The most important element company leaders can learn from a CEO handling a crisis incorrectly is to treat it as a priority and engage early with leadership from all functional areas within the organization. By highlighting the crisis, you open the door to potential solutions and next steps from all sides. And this level of transparency leads to an increased versus decreased sense of trust.

15. Treat Others Like You Want To Be Treated: A simple leadership principle that brings clarity to every situation is to treat others as you would want to be treated. When a CEO follows this guiding principle, it helps make things clear. In times of difficulty, the leader is called to act with integrity, compassion, and thoughtfulness. When a leader thinks of others, the pathway becomes clear.

Of course, the one critical factor that still must be considered in crisis communications is the prioritization of actions and messages. First and foremost, assure safety and minimize harm to all forms of life.

Failure to do so will only magnify the crisis. Of course, the first statements also need to address health and safety if there is such a risk. After that, be sure to gather the facts before you move into reputation management mode. It’s OK to buy time by saying that you are gathering the facts and will issue a statement as soon as possible.

<img data-attachment-id="4580" data-permalink="http://crossbowcommunications.com/wildlife-contracting-brain-disease-from-biosolids/crossbow-logo-tight/" data-orig-file="https://i1.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/crossbow-logo-tight.jpg?fit=584%2C171" data-orig-size="584,171" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="PR firm Phoenix Denver USA" data-image-description="

public relations firm Denver Phoenix

” data-medium-file=”https://i1.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/crossbow-logo-tight.jpg?fit=300%2C88″ data-large-file=”https://i1.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/crossbow-logo-tight.jpg?fit=584%2C171″ class=”aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4580″ src=”https://i1.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/crossbow-logo-tight.jpg?resize=300%2C88″ alt=”PR firm USA” width=”300″ height=”88″ srcset=”https://i1.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/crossbow-logo-tight.jpg?resize=300%2C88 300w, https://i1.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/crossbow-logo-tight.jpg?w=584 584w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” data-recalc-dims=”1″ />

Crossbow is an award-winning and record-setting communications firm. We influence public opinion, public policy and business decisions around the world. We’re helping stakeholders tackle some of the most urgent issues of our time. Our headquarters are in Denver, Colorado. We’re opening a new office in Phoenix, Arizona.

Top Eight Ways to Optimize an Intent-Based Network Implementation

Mellanox published a great blog entitled “How to Make Your Leaf/Spine Network Hum.” As I read this blog I realized that the recommendations were aligned incredibly well with features of an Intent-Based Network implementation. In short, an Intent-Based Network implementation enables simple data center automation, rapid deployments, reduced OpEx, and multi-vendor lifecycle management for leaf-spine networks. Next, I’ll highlight the features of an Intent-Based Network implementation in the context of the eight tune-ups mentioned in Mellanox’s blog post.

Marketing Video – How Simple Is Your Sales Pitch?

Check out this quick marketing video and see if your sales pitch is simple enough!

How To Avoid A Public Relations Crisis

Aversion, Honesty Key To Crisis Communications

No business likes to enter crisis mode. As a leader, you may not know how to respond to tough questions and negative media coverage. You can add insult to injury by making misstep after misstep in your actions and statements. You may overspeak and provide a comment that just seems to rub your customers the wrong way. No matter what you do, it isn’t working, and it just gets worse with each move. Handling a PR crisis correctly as a leader can make a difference in whether your business with minimal damage.

Crisis aversion is the most important element of crisis management. Organizations owe it to themselves, stakeholders and stockholders to anticipate worst case scenarios and avoid them. Of course, aversion and planning only go so far. So don’t lose sight of your compass and conscience when you enter unchartered territory–also known as crisis communications.

Below, members of Forbes Coaches Council provide some of the things that we can learn from handling a crisis incorrectly and how you can avoid making the same mistakes:

1. Listen To Your Team: A crisis is usually considered handled incorrectly when a leader goes rogue and does their own thing without consulting their team. A leader who doesn’t listen to their team will always be blamed when they don’t consult others first. By listening to input and experiences of others on the team, joint decisions can be made and the company will be much more likely to rally around the CEO.

<img data-attachment-id="162" data-permalink="http://crossbowcommunications.com/public-relations-firm-phoenix-denver/befunky_5-jpg/" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?fit=600%2C480" data-orig-size="600,480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="crisis communications" data-image-description="

public relations and crisis communications

” data-medium-file=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?fit=300%2C240″ data-large-file=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?fit=600%2C480″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-162″ src=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?resize=600%2C480″ alt=”stakeholder relations and communications” width=”600″ height=”480″ srcset=”https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?w=600 600w, https://i2.wp.com/crossbowcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BeFunky_5.jpg.jpg?resize=300%2C240 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px” data-recalc-dims=”1″ />

2. Take Responsibility And Apologize: We see, time and time again, CEOs who excuse, equivocate, or give halfhearted and completely insensitive apologies. The primary thing you should do as a CEO is take responsibility and make a full apology, which includes what you will do to make amends for what has happened and what you will do differently in the future. Be honest, be vulnerable, and don’t be afraid to show emotion.

3. Tell The Truth: Transparency is key when dealing with a crisis. So many CEO try to hide the mistakes that they or the company have made for fear of losing profit. But when the truth comes out, they lose much more than profits, they lose reputation and brand value. People want to buy from companies they trust and can believe in. Profit and brand values go up when transparency is real.

4. Reflect And Practice: There is no shortage of examples of CEOs who have made mistakes when handling a crisis. Company leaders can learn from this by reflecting on the ones that could impact them, then think about how they would have handled the situation differently. They should also anticipate the “hurricanes on their horizon” then ensure the proper process to handle a crisis is in place in the event it ever surfaces.

5. Create A Diverse Crisis Response Team: When responding to a crisis, it is important for an organization to see the issue from different perspectives before responding. Employing a diverse crisis response team will ensure that your message is not tone deaf to the issue or the community affected by the incident.

6. Discuss, Correct, Move Forward: Any wise company leader will know that mistakes are inevitable – the only thing they can do is make sure that big decisions have been discussed among the experts in the company and that decisions have not been taken autocratically. If the entire group makes a wrong decision, it will be a lesson learned. Take corrective action and move on. You have nothing then else but to live and learn.

7. Take Responsibility, Be Accountable: Trust comes from meeting expectations. When executives ask, “What should we do?” they create a self-referential frame and become self-protective, doing and saying things that make them feel less bad. Instead, they should ask, “What would reasonable people appropriately expect a responsible company to do when facing this kind of situation?” Doing what reasonable people appropriately expect causes trust to remain or to increase.

8. Remember Communication Is Key: When handling a crisis, leaders must communicate. Remember the ABCs of communication: accuracy, barriers and context. The message that is shared must be truthful and provided with only the facts. Leaders must keep in mind the barriers to communication, which include the length of the message and the method by which it is delivered. The context represents the situation in which it is delivered.

9. Build Trust In Advance: Companies often wait until a crisis to take care of fundamentals that should be already established with customers/clients. When I was advertising for a large quick-service restaurant and there was fear of mad cow disease coming from Europe, we preemptively developed a campaign about the quality of the food. So, understand how you can build trust with your customers/clients and start right away.

10. Be Prepared For A Crisis: Leaders take the time to prepare for everything, from acquisitions and mergers to cocktail parties, but one area that sometimes gets overlooked is crisis. One of the best ways to prepare for a crisis is to simulate possible crisis scenarios and practice responses until you feel ready. Practice until you are truly ready for that “news camera in your face” moment and others agree that you are ready.

11. Get The Facts Before You Act: In the midst of an organizational crisis, executives make a bad situation worse by speaking out before they know the facts. Although in a crisis everything seems to move at the speed of light and every stakeholder is demanding action to be taken immediately, systematic decision-making is never more important. Executives should acknowledge that the situation is of high priority and give full attention to the collection of the facts.

12. Demonstrate Empathy: A grievous mistake that CEOs make during times of crisis is to express concerns only about maintaining shareholder value. Although the business should be top of mind, the outward expression of caring about one’s business is caring about its employees. A case in point is BP’s CEO who did not immediately empathize with the fallen employees and their families, leaving BP with a tarnished environmental, business and people record.

13. Understand The Power Of Press And Community: You’ve seen the ugliness that can happen after a CEO handles a crisis incorrectly. This type of negative press intensifies the damage already done and can sometimes leave a permanent mark on his/her reputation. One thing CEOs must learn is that even with all the power and influence they possess in their personal careers, the press is very powerful and “turning off” their communities can prove very damaging.

14. Highlight The Crisis: The most important element company leaders can learn from a CEO handling a crisis incorrectly is to treat it as a priority and engage early with leadership from all functional areas within the organization. By highlighting the crisis, you open the door to potential solutions and next steps from all sides. And this level of transparency leads to an increased versus decreased sense of trust.

15. Treat Others Like You Want To Be Treated: A simple leadership principle that brings clarity to every situation is to treat others as you would want to be treated. When a CEO follows this guiding principle, it helps make things clear. In times of difficulty, the leader is called to act with integrity, compassion, and thoughtfulness. When a leader thinks of others, the pathway becomes clear.

Of course, the one critical factor that still must be considered in crisis communications is the prioritization of actions and messages. First and foremost, assure safety and minimize harm to all forms of life.

Failure to do so will only magnify the crisis. Of course, the first statements also need to address health and safety if there is such a risk. After that, be sure to gather the facts before you move into reputation management mode. It’s OK to buy time by saying that you are gathering the facts and will issue a statement as soon as possible.

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Top Eight Ways to Optimize an Intent-Based Network Implementation

Mellanox published a great blog entitled “How to Make Your Leaf/Spine Network Hum.” As I read this blog I realized that the recommendations were aligned incredibly well with features of an Intent-Based Network implementation. In short, an Intent-Based Network implementation enables simple data center automation, rapid deployments, reduced OpEx, and multi-vendor lifecycle management for leaf-spine networks. Next, I’ll highlight the features of an Intent-Based Network implementation in the context of the eight tune-ups mentioned in Mellanox’s blog post.

Top Eight Ways to Optimize an Intent-Based Network Implementation

Mellanox published a great blog entitled “How to Make Your Leaf/Spine Network Hum.” As I read this blog I realized that the recommendations were aligned incredibly well with features of an Intent-Based Network implementation. In short, an Intent-Based Network implementation enables simple data center automation, rapid deployments, reduced OpEx, and multi-vendor lifecycle management for leaf-spine networks. Next, I’ll highlight the features of an Intent-Based Network implementation in the context of the eight tune-ups mentioned in Mellanox’s blog post.