Clear signals now, more than ever

“Bummer,” I told myself as successive news stories on the widening graft mess further eroding our economic growth prospects and business sentiment, and pushing the country into “high” political risk territory, hogged headlines in recent days.¹

I mean, sure: who among us did not expect a controversy of this scale to hit the economy? But I’d prefer more uplifting news to go with my coffee any morning.

As with many of my fellow BusinessWorld readers and audience members (of this publication’s various fora and webinars which have yielded compelling content), I always look for useful takeaways even from dire situations. Was it Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, or Renaissance writer Niccolo Machiavelli who admonished to “never let a good crisis go to waste?”

ABCs
Take the pandemic years that were marked with gnawing uncertainty especially as the COVID-19 virus spread in 2020-2021. One crucial prescription which consultancies like McKinsey & Company, the Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Co. agreed on was the need to communicate key messages, especially on an organization’s state of affairs and a road map out of the crisis, clearly to employees, customers, and other stakeholders. This tack assures that everyone who matters is on the same page every step of the way.

I’d say this prescription holds true nowadays, wouldn’t you agree?

In his keynote speech kicking off the whole-day BusinessWorld Forecast 2026 forum (a biannual event) at the Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig City on Nov. 25, SM Investments Corp. Chairman Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., a former central bank governor, said that: “In this environment, investors and consumers look for clarity — clarity of direction, policy consistency, and disciplined execution… Credibility is the foundation of trust, and trust is the foundation of confidence.”²

A couple of reputation management experts interviewed by journalists this past week agreed that while it was good for the Marcos administration to finally train the spotlight on the massive corruption that has been gnawing at the core of governance in this country, it has not always communicated effectively with the public — the government’s primary stakeholder as its boss — as it moves ahead in this issue.

So I dusted off my notes from the start of the pandemic to glean fundamentals of communicating in a crisis, many of them from the big three global consultancies, to see which ones apply to this crisis in governance that we now face.

There were a few emerging basic themes. So, here goes…

THE BUCK STOPS HERE
There should be one clear voice — that of the captain of the ship.

McKinsey had said in June 2020 that, “[d]uring a crisis, employees’ most trusted source of information is often their employer.”³ One can apply that principle to citizens’ relationship with the national government. “For this reason, a leader’s words and actions have a major impact on the well-being of those they manage…”

Ron F. Jabal, founder and president of the Reputation Management Association of the Philippines and chairman of Advocacy Partners Asia who had worked with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the European Union, among others, (and a former journalist of this publication, if I may add) said in a chat earlier this week that while it is important that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. is seen (inspecting sites of irregularly executed projects) and heard more frequently (in press conferences), he should choose more carefully when to do so and what to say.

In the first place, Mr. Jabal said, it would have been better had the President had gone beyond the “Mahiya kaman kayo (you ought to be ashamed)” State of the Nation Address (which focused on graft and corruption as an “issue”) by making a separate public pronouncement of a national crisis that included “broad strokes” of a strategy to break the chains of graft and corruption that have been holding us back as a power in Southeast Asia (and any foreign power out to subvert us can be expected to capitalize on this problem).

A “crisis,” he said, goes beyond a mere “incident,” in that the former affects one’s reputation both within and outside the organization, and starts affecting the livelihood/operation of all stakeholders. By that definition, we are clearly in a crisis today.

Doing so would not only strike fear in the hearts of the corrupt, but also mobilize stakeholders and resources better towards one goal. After spelling out that strategy, the national chief executive can get all hands from relevant offices, and the public itself, on deck.

NETWORK OF TEAMS
Not that the President would be alone at the top in this task. Crisis communication is part of bigger business continuity planning that sets up structures for this purpose, Mr. Jabal said. This means a crisis management team led by the President, a crisis command center led by an executive secretary or chief of staff, and a crisis communication team.

Crisis planning is “non-negotiable” even before any such emergency strikes. “Every organization needs a clear, strategic communication plan outlining roles, messages, and channels before a crisis strikes,” according to a discussion on the website of internal communication platform provider Cerkl. “Preparation reduces panic and ensures a faster, more coordinated response.”⁴

McKinsey noted that “in a fast-changing situation… a small executive group can’t collect information or make decisions quickly enough to respond effectively.”⁵

“What you need now is a strong network of teams that share a purpose and collaborate efficiently across groups,” it added, likening a crisis to a fast-moving war in which small teams — each one clear about the overall objective — quickly address attacks or other unforeseen situations from unmonitored corners of the battlefield.

If there is a structure, there will be better planning, hence, more order and less “disarray” in messaging, as evidenced by occasional conflicting official narratives/explanations, e.g. did the executive secretary resign or was he unceremoniously replaced? (Not that Malacañang’s press undersecretary can be blamed, since she was clearly kept out of the loop on this matter and said only what she was told to say.)

Hence, each team leader will know his purview and take over from the president. Mr. Jabal asked why it took a president to talk about the issuance of arrest warrants and the launch of a public works transparency portal in the past few days. These announcements of operational details, he said, were better made by the Cabinet secretaries concerned. “You need to ask yourself if an issue necessitates no less than a president’s address.”

WHO ARE IN THE AUDIENCE?
Prioritize stakeholders, especially those who are crucial to the survival and growth of an organization.

The national government can identify who makes up its key audience: not just the general public, but also influential groups like major business chambers, religious establishments, and key non-government and civil society organizations, Mr. Jabal added.

This way, it can better craft messages customized to the nature and interests of these specific groups in pursuit of an ultimate goal. Hence, the need for backchannel efforts to support public pronouncements.

“… [C]rises… present leaders with infinitely complicated challenges and no easy answers,” McKinsey said. “Tough trade-offs abound and, with them, tough decisions about communicating complex issues to diverse audiences.”

COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES
Communicate clearly, simply and frequently, McKinsey advised, since “[a] crisis limits people’s capacity to absorb information…”

In observing carefully timed engagement with stakeholders, keep messages simple, “to the point, and actionable.” (Use plain language avoiding jargon, use short sentences, and concise updates — meaning messaging is very deliberate, and never, or rarely, be off-the-cuff, as it must be well-planned.)

Communicate promptly and frequently, the consultancy added, noting that “communicators regularly underestimate how frequently messages must be repeated and reinforced.”

And be able to address fast-changing reputational risks, especially that powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The Cerkl piece quoted Julian Payne, Global Chair for Crisis & Risk at US-based public relations and marketing consultancy Edelman, as saying that “[t]he speed at which all forms of information manipulation are now emerging is unprecedented.

“Organizations are facing a new era of AI-driven reputational challenges that are unpredictable, sophisticated and fast. We are seeing their impact in everything from deep fakes to misinformation-driven boycotts and the consequences of being unprepared are severe.”

For political campaign strategist Alan S. German, the President’s clarifications of certain controversies directly implicating him “should have come sooner,”⁶ while Mr. Jabal cautioned that Mr. Marcos should be more focused in his messaging, avoiding details (which, again, are best left to his department chiefs) and personal issues as much as possible.

Mr. Jabal noted, for example, that Mr. Marcos correctly began answering the question on his sister’s jab about his alleged addiction by saying that his family would rather “not air dirty linen in public.” The problem was when he continued to say that “the lady you see talking on TV is not my sister” — a quote on which journalists naturally pounced.

“The more motherhood statements you make as a president amid a crisis, the better; leave details to your Cabinet secretaries.”

CONTROL THE NARRATIVE
Candor — to the point of owning up to mistakes, if warranted — shows accountability, which in turn restores trust faster than defensiveness, major consultancies have said.

“Choose candor over charisma,” McKinsey counsels. “Trust is never more important than in a crisis. Those who fail to build trust quickly in crises lose their… [stakeholders’] confidence.

“Remember that what you do matters as much as what you say in building trust, and that scrutiny of leaders’ actions is magnified during a crisis.”

Finally, effective crisis communication tailor-fits messages across all channels, including press conferences, social media, media blasts, internal communications, external stakeholder outreach, etc.

This follows from scenario-building/gaming prospective situations, identifying talking points to focus on, practice Q&A sheets, key words to use and to avoid (e.g. “they” risks isolating third parties instead of drawing them in), what to say in answer to an unexpected question, body language, etc.

THERE’S STILL TIME, BUT…
So, as we wait for “big fish” to fry among those who stole our tax money through graft and corruption-tainted infrastructure projects — and for the government to fix the system that allowed them to do so by installing reforms like enactment of a freedom of information law, defining political dynasties to be banned, making election campaign contributions more transparent, further tightening procurement rules, and lifting bank secrecy restrictions, etc. — we hope that the government improves its messaging in order to better secure public support or, at least, understanding.

Because flood control projects are just the tip of the iceberg. You have other issues involving health centers, classrooms, and other infrastructure.

Outside public works, we have been given a glimpse of the magnitude of the problem elsewhere, and it is good that the new Finance chief has cracked down on the Internal Revenue bureau’s letters of authority which corrupt taxmen have long used to extort from conscientious taxpayers. (Tax policy expert Raymond A. Abrea asked why contractors linked to graft have been able to secure tax certificates easily, in contrast to habitually compliant taxpayers.)

This administration has two and a half years left before it bows out in mid-2028, so there’s still time to fix this. And such an improvement requires better public communication.

Let’s hope it does not waste time, nor our patience.

¹https://tinyurl.com/284hqt78

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²https://tinyurl.com/25yk8ff3

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Wilfredo G. Reyes was editor-in-chief of BusinessWorld from 2020 through 2023.