TJ Walker (video author/presenter) critiques BP CEO Tony Hayward's public statements during the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, arguing Hayward repeatedly communicated off-message (e.g., telling the Guardian 'the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean'), which invited ridicule and harmed BP's reputation. Walker calls the response the worst-handled crisis communications for an environmental disaster, gives Hayward an 'F', and prescribes crisis-communication rules: stick to clear facts, explain containment and prevention steps, use a single spokesperson, and provide frequent (ideally hourly) updates.
Chapters
Here's another doozy from Tony Hayward. He told this to the Guardian. He said, quote, the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume. Oh boy. Okay, once again, he may be technically accurate, but talk about a 10 year. I mean, he just opened himself up to such ridicule. Again, his message there is, hey, maybe it's not that bad. Is that really the message you want to be communicating at the time when so many gallons and barrels of oil are coming out every second from your well? Horrible, horrible message. It's off message, it's confusing and it's open to ridicule. In fact, one commentator, Rachel Maddow of msnbc, said that's like saying that a tumor the size of a walnut is no big deal because it's so small in comparison to the rest of your body. It gets a laugh, it gets a chuckle, but it does show the absurdity of his argument. Once again, Tony Hayward is sinking himself, harming his corporate reputation because of putting out too much information, too many facts that are off message. It's too complex of a message. Yes, he may technically be accurate, but when you see the pictures of that oil coming up on the beach, when you see birds and fish covered with oil, and then you hear a quote from the CEO of BP saying, well, it's a big ocean, it's a small amount of oil there, this is a horrible, horrible message. It opens him up to ridicule and it again is putting him in the position of saying, you know what, really, it's not that big a deal. That's not BP's message. And that's why I unfortunately have to conclude that while this is in fact the largest environmental disaster ever of a man made nature when it comes to oil or any other fuel out there, it's also the absolute worst handling of a crisis. When it comes to the communications and crisis communications through the media. I have to give Tony Hayward a solid, solid F. Even though he has good communication skills and is not a bad communicator. The stakes are so high that when it comes to a crisis of this proportion, you have no margin for error. The small errors he has made, he's made on a consistent basis and they have in fact defined bp. It didn't have to be this way. When you have a crisis, they do inevitably happen. You have to be focused. You have to have a solid foundation of a message. You have to tell people, here are the facts. Here is exactly what happened. Don't guess. Then you have to tell people, here are the exact things we're doing to stop this. And then you have to tell people, here are the exact things we're doing to make sure this never happens again. And that's it. You've got to stick to that. But you need to update people with new information, ideally on an hourly basis. You need it coming from one person. 911 didn't have 20 different city officials from New York and Washington communicating. It basically all filtered through the mayor, Rudy Giuliani. BP needed everything to flow right through their CEO's mouth. He should have been holding press conferences every single hour. If they'd done that, they would be in a much better situation today. If you ever have a crisis, please learn those lessons, focus on the positive messages you have, and communicate regularly and forcefully. I'm T.J. walker.
