This is really about crisis communications, so please bear with me, I’m hungry.

The New Year brings typical resolutions to eat healthy, get in shape, refresh and reboot – on both the personal and professional fronts. In true form, this year I have embarked upon the Whole30 Challenge.

The gist of this program involves eliminating virtually every pleasurable culinary element from your daily life for 30 days straight – sugar (later Specialties cookies, ketchup and pretty much every condiment), alcohol (so long Margarita Monday and Wine Wednesday), legumes (bye bye burritos and peanut butter), grains and dairy (ack, no aged gouda!).

When I announced this to my team, they had a look of panic on their faces. You see, I had gone down this unpleasurable path last summer and my officemates, well, they (kind of) suffered. Granted, I was just a weee bit cranky; that and I wanted to chew off my own arm I was so hungry.

Today is day 24 of 30 and I have to say that this same group is doing a happy dance because (thankfully) I learned from my experience and I applied those learnings to everyone’s benefit. As I was thinking about this new effort it became clear that takeaways from my first Whole30 challenge very much apply to preparing for and communicating in a crisis:

PLANNING AND PREPARATION ARE KEY

Better to be ready for a crisis and in a proactive position where you feel prepared, confident and armed with the tools to be successful than in a fire drill where it makes it more difficult to make informed/thoughtful choices. What are your organization’s vulnerabilities? What issues are hot buttons in your industry/within your company? Identifying potential scenarios – and creating a plan for these scenarios – puts you in a better position with a greater chance for a successful outcome. So, pack your bag with approved messaging (and compliant snacks), and you’ll be ready to face nearly any challenge.

GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

Assemble the facts. Gather as much information as possible to inform your approach. What is known and what happened (or when will this happen if issue brewing)? Who is involved (or who will be affected)? Damages or severity of issue/crisis so far? Imminent risk for further exposure or backlash against your organization/the individual? Cause(s)? Or, in the case of Whole30, clearing your house of tempting foods and being clear on the do’s and don’ts of the program.

RIP OFF THE BAND-AID

It may be painful, but getting all bad news out at once is more apt to get it over with in one fell swoop and, in most cases, eliminates a prolonged news cycle. In the case of Whole30 if you tried to eliminate foods one at a time it would be more like the Whole150, and who wants that? My team would run for the hills!

HATERS WILL BE HATERS — ESPECIALLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

There are true believers out there on any given subject who will never be satisfied no matter what you do or say. And they will be loud about it. Recognizing detractors for who they are, not trying to win a losing battle and moving on is often the best course.

STAY THE COURSE- BUT PLAN FOR CONTINGENCIES

Sticking with consistent messaging and approach will help avoid distractions and the temptation to get “into the weeds.” That doesn’t mean that if a situation seriously changes, and there are major new developments, that you cannot change the game plan. This happens often in crises. Preparing for multiple potential scenarios helps in addressing contingencies that arise – before they do. Another reason why I carry approved foods in my purse is that I never know when my son’s game will go into overtime, and that is most likely the time that the liquid cheese nachos from the snack bar start to look pretty darn good.

PROGRESS CAN REQUIRE PUSHING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

While tempting to hide or think a crisis or issue will go away, facing it head on often helps get ahead of the curve. It may not always be comfortable, but better to be ahead of the issue versus taking a reactive or defensive position. Getting to where I am today required leaving my comforting food/drink rituals (a.k.a. unhealthy habits) at the door.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES

When the dust has settled, it’s time to take stock of what worked and what didn’t and to apply learnings and protocols to ensure the issue/crisis/situation will never happen again.  This is all part of the reputation recovery. I know I certainly used learnings from my last Whole30 go-around to ensure that my husband and I would be far more prepared and far less cranky. And, as of day 24, I can report we are feeling great with our eye toward the finish line.

Are you prepared for your next crisis? Take a look at the crisis check list to see how prepared you or your organization might be.