Book Review: Brand Under Fire
Brand Under Fire. By Jeff Hunt. Ordnance Hill Publishing; available from amazon.com; 211 pages; $25.
Every organization needs a plan to prepare for and respond to situations that can threaten its survival. In writing Brand Under Fire, Jeff Hunt draws on his extensive experience helping corporations effectively manage events that involve loss of life, resources, revenue, and market share. Readers will recognize several well-known crises that were often beyond the organization’s control. For example, Hunt describes how his team worked with the Tokyo Electric Power Company to restore public confidence and recover from the tsunami-induced nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
Hunt explains what works and what doesn’t work in today's 24/7 social media and journalism cycles when dealing with a site accident, bad production batch, cyber event, or other adverse situation. He takes all relevant factors into account, including demographics and culture. Across the globe, younger generations communicate faster and more frequently than their older counterparts and demonstrate different sets of values. Anyone working in a job that may involve shaping an organization’s response to a crisis will benefit from having deeper understanding of that and other cultural and generational distinctions.
Reading this book and applying the author’s clear recommendations while thinking through potential scenarios is a practical recipe for success should your organization face such a challenge.
Reviewer: Ronald R. Newsom, CPP, is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with extensive experience in expeditionary force protection, physical and industrial security, and operations security. He also managed NATO nuclear safety and security issues and an airfield for U.S.-led coalition forces in Pakistan. Newsom is a member of the ASIS Pittsburgh Chapter.
