A Conversation With Alan Hilburg
During his thirty-year career, Alan Hilburg has been a pioneer in branding, employee engagement, organizational behavior, and transitions, especially during crises and litigation. He has developed software to measure distrust, employee disengagement, and decision cultures. Recently, he collaborated with the Hong Kong PR Network to discuss the elevation of strategic communications into business relevance. This event was sponsored by VMA GROUP, and Alan spoke with Fiona Housiaux, VMA GROUP’s global head of marketing, about his career, the communications industry, and some hard-earned wisdom.
Entering Crisis Communications
Fiona Housiaux (FH): Alan, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. For those interested in a career in crisis communications, can you tell me how your own career evolved?
Alan Hilburg (AH): Crisis communications is never about the crisis; it’s always about the opportunity the crisis presents. Crisis management differs from crisis communications. Crisis management is more of a business function rooted in the question, “In a crisis, what’s at risk?” The three-part answer is business continuity, protecting brand trust, and protecting leadership, particularly their decision culture. That decision culture is embedded in each company’s values.
From the perspective of necessary professional qualities, I would suggest these four: quiet authority, seeing beyond the obvious, confidence and patience, and the ability to think and move decisively.
Challenges in the Communications Industry
FH: Your career has spanned four decades. What do you think have been the biggest changes or challenges for the communications industry?
AH: Moving from being a cost center to a profit center. That journey involves migrating communications from being about communications to the role communications play in business decisions. Communications is an integrated business function, contributing to the overall success of a business by helping various organizational assets connect and influence their stakeholders. Communication officers and teams are the stewards of brand trust. Elevating integrated communications into a core business competency is a challenging journey, but it is essential for companies aspiring to be most admired, respected, and trusted.
Underestimating Crisis Communication
FH: The home page of Hilburg Associates reads ‘S*&t Happens’. As a pioneer in crisis resolution, what do you think companies today underestimate when it comes to communicating to their audiences, and why?
AH: There are three primary reasons. First, it is very hard for senior leadership to acknowledge to their board of directors that “S*&t happens.” No CEO, when being interviewed by a Board of Directors, is asked, “Tell us about the last crisis you handled?” However, no one likes surprises.
While crisis management and mitigation accept that, the world’s smartest leadership teams strive to avoid the negative impact of that reality by investing in forecasting. Crisis forecasting tools allow companies and brands to identify ‘black swan’ events that can erode marketplace trust. We use three crisis avoidance digital platforms (TrustMetrics, RIPAL, and the VUCA Index) as ‘crystal balls’ to project worst-case and often unthinkable scenarios and prepare to mitigate them.
Secondly, “underestimation” is a serious risk within organizations and is a symptom of a corporate cultural deficiency that doesn’t promote ‘speaking truth to power.’ When boldness is rewarded, the unthinkable becomes thinkable and then mitigatable. Lastly, there are ten fundamental flaws that CEOs and leadership teams repeatedly make in some combination that are all avoidable. One step to eliminate these leadership flaws is to ensure that the most senior comms executive is seen as an essential ‘voice’ on the ExCo.
Common Mistakes in Strategic Communications
FH: VMA GROUP has recently launched a survey on the CEO perception of the importance of the communications function. On that thread, what are the most common mistakes that CEOs make when it comes to strategic communications or lack thereof?
AH: Not sure what the results were. However, if they are similar to what we see in North and South America and EMEA, there are three key avoidable mistakes. First, failure to recognize that communications is not about writing and speaking; it’s about getting stakeholders to listen. Second, understanding the three key pathways for converting stakeholders from hearers to listeners because only those who are listening are predisposed to have their attitudes, preferences, and choices changed. Lastly, always communicate through the ears and heart of the stakeholder.
Valuable Lessons Learned
FH: They say that ‘hindsight is a wonderful thing’. What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned over your career?
AH: I’m not that smart, but I have really good ears. We are often a reflection of the best we’ve heard others say. I’m not that smart, but I have really good eyes. We are often a reflection of the best we’ve seen of how others act. I’m not smart, but I understand my stupidity. It is your inside decisions more than outside conditions that determine your success. No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave. Small random acts of kindness suggest that you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. There’s a world out there, and you’ve got to look at both sides of the mountain in your lifetime. Failure is not falling down…it’s staying down. Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror.
Communications as a Resource
FH: Why do you feel that businesses view communications or the wider marketing function as a necessary cost rather than a much-needed resource?
AH: There are many reasons. One of the most glaring is that communication professionals don’t understand the business of business. When they offer advice, it is communication advice, not business advice. There are a number of steps one can take to remedy this.
The ‘Light Bulb’ Moment
FH: What has been your ultimate ‘light bulb’ moment?
AH: When I realized that when you are on the stage, you are an actor, with a script and role. When you can be behind the scenes, you are the director, influencing everything that is going on stage. Lesson: live an egoless life and let your conscience and values guide every decision you make every day. In the end, it’s more important to be valued for who you are than what you know or what you do.
FH: Thanks for your time, Alan.
AH: You’re welcome, it was my pleasure.
To read more about the work that Alan does, please click here, and to find out the latest updates from the Hong Kong PR Network, click here.
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