Crisis communications is a big part of our stock in trade around here, so we’ve been following the Toyota situation very closely. This is one of the biggest corporate crises we’ve seen in a long time, and the circumstances make it one of the worst possible jams in which any organization could find itself. Here’s why: Toyota realized it had a major, massive problem on its hands – one which affects a broad swath of its product line, and one which potentially puts its customers in harm’s way. But worst of all, they know they’ve got a huge problem, yet they have no idea how to fix it. In any crisis situation, your communications needs to encompass three key points: what happened, how it happened, and what you’re doing to remedy the situation and prevent it from happening again. Toyota has the first two, but they desperately need the third. They’ve done the right thing by issuing the recall (albeit one required by U.S. law) and proactively warning their customers through the media. Ditto for stopping sales – and production – of the affected vehicles. And from a communications standpoint, I think they’ve been especially smart in not blaming the supplier who makes the gas pedal assemblies which are at the heart of the problem, instead accepting the ultimate responsibility for everything that comprises a Toyota product. If we look to the Tylenol crisis of the 1980s as the gold standard for crisis comms, so far Toyota is following that lead: they’ve warned the public of the potential danger, and they’ve pulled the product from the shelves, so to speak. Now what they need more than anything is the solution – the equivalent of the safety seal packaging which enabled Tylenol not only to put the immediate problem to rest, but to set the new standard in safety in their category. You can bet they’re working day and night to find it.

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It’s been a tough couple of months for the Toronto Transit Commission, what with a major subway shutdown, a fare hike, a damning report on mismanagement of the St Clair right-of-way project and the snoring collector heard ‘round the world. So Chair Adam Giambrone and Chief General Manager Gary Webster did the right thing this week, when they put forth a powerful but simple message to riders: we hear you, and we’re going to work hard to get better. “We owe our riders and apology for customer service that does not live up to their expectations” were Giambrone’s exact words. “The most challenging part of our job is the people side,” Webster offered. “This is an opportunity for us to step it up a notch.” A range of coming initiatives was outlined, including better staff screening at the hiring stage and beefed up customer service training, new complaint hotlines, Metropass vending machines, electronic screens with next vehicle arrival time information and even text messaging updates – all indicating that some serious work is to be done in a number of areas, consistent with the commitment. The Toronto Star’s Royson James called it “classic damage control” and pronounced it ‘well done,” rightly noting that Giambrone is about to run for mayor and needs to show leadership on the city file he currently holds before setting off in pursuit of the whole enchilada. But based on comments from commuters on radio and TV, most seem just pleased that their complaints are being heard and encouraged by the appearance of some action being taken. Touchdown.

I can just picture the steam coming out of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ ears. While speculation around Apple’s new product launch has been running at fever pitch, Jobs, famous for creating build-up and hype surrounding a launch, had still managed to keep a lid on many of the iPad’s finer details. Cue Terry McGraw, CEO of McGraw Hill, who appeared on CNBC to discuss the major publishing house’s fourth-quarter earnings. It seemed like a pretty innocuous interview, up until he ended up spilling the beans on the hotly anticipated device. “Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now – we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific." What followed was a failed attempt at damage control by a McGraw Hill spokesperson, a whirlwind of media reports on Apple’s new tablet device and, one can only presume, some deep displeasure among the folks at Apple. The communications lesson learned here is classic. In an interview, only answer questions related to yourself and your subject matter expertise; don’t speak on behalf of others, be it your competition or your partners. A savvy interviewer, as is CNBC’s Erin Burnett, will run the gamut of relevant topics, relax the interviewee and just when think your prime time moment is over, casually toss out the very question they’ve wanted to ask you all along. Burnett did just that with her question about Apple and McGraw took an extra-large bite.

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It was this nation's moment in the spotlight. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking to the movers and shakers of the global economy at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Lots to brag about: a resilient economy. The strongest banking system in the world. A commitment to maintaining and growing the financial services industry while remaining true to the conviction that we will not walk down the path of overregulation of financial institutions and free markets and moreover.... Zzzzzz.... Huh? What? Ok, that's unfair. The PM delivered a solid speech, and included some very noble sentiment about the tremendously important issue of making women's and children's health a top priority of Canada's G8 leadership this year. But this country's real moment in the Davos spotlight came courtesy of ex-President Bill Clinton. Speaking to reporters with Harper at his side, Clinton, who's the U.N.’s Special Envoy to Haiti, singled out Canada for going above and beyond the call of duty in providing aid to that earthquake-ravaged country. In doing so, Clinton showed both his understanding of Canada (home to a substantial Haitian diaspora, he noted) and his diplomatic savvy – like when he praised Canadians for donating "probably more per capita" than any other nation, and gave credit for that in part to the Harper government and its policy of matching private donations. TV cameras captured Stephen Harper looking quite pleased and proud, to say the least. Takeaways: 1)Clinton, for all his faults, is still a great communicator. 2)If someone in the PMO set that news bite up, he or she should get a promotion. 3) And finally, one surefire way to get props is this: do something really good. Touchdown, Canada!

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OK, you can ask for a video replay on this one, but I think U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner did a superb job talking back to the congressmen on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearings on the controversial bailout of mega-insurer AIG. Democrats and Republicans alike piled on the questions and accusations to make it clear – in an election year, of course – that they were more outraged than anybody else by so many taxpayer dollars going to so few filthy rich people. And they had Geithner, who in his previous job as head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, was instrumental in the AIG save, firmly in their sights. But for once, Geithner came across as reasoned, single-minded and consistent in his own defence, and in defence of the Obama administration’s response to the crisis on Wall Street. To quote: “If you are outraged by AIG – and you should be – then you should be deeply committed to financial reform that will protect taxpayers and the economy from excessive risk-taking by financial institutions.” Rather crafty, that. This steady performance was something of a surprise. In his televised debut address last February, Geithner tried to explain the government’s plan to clean up the banks, and he came across as unconvincing – almost as if he didn’t understand the plan himself. It was such a bad performance that the stock markets tanked the next day. This time around, Geithner was the strong, even courageous regulatory official – OK, that doesn’t sound exactly inspiring, but you know what I mean – that Obama made him out to be when he got the nod at Treasury. Anyway, I’ll admit that Geithner’s bravado might not be enough to save his job over the long run. But it should at least earn him some respect.

What’s your call?

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now the senior vice-president of corporate and public affairs at Veritas.

Apple announcement day is to geeks what New Years Eve is to drinkers – it’s when all the amateurs come out of the woodwork. This week was no exception as Apple CEO Steve Jobs finally ended months of speculation and announced the latest in the iPod franchise – the iPad tablet computer. The social media space has literally been throbbing with excitement trying to predict what Jobs would announce – to the point where the product itself didn’t even matter, just the dimly held view that there was going to be a product. “Leaks” have been published, analysed and dismissed on an almost daily basis as Apple’s communications and marketing strategy of staying silent continued to fuel the online excitement. On launch day, the corner of the Internet usually reserved for geeks and propeller heads was invaded by normally rational citizens wanting to know the very second the announcement was made. The microblogging platform Twitter and the popular blog Engadget strained under the weight of users … and their expectations as the launch was reported in real-time. Finally, following the launch, the iPad is the lead story on radio, TV, print and online publications around the world. Whether the product can live up to all this hype is not a matter for TD&F(which has already purchased 76 iPads and counting). It’s a no brainer to give this almost perfectly executed strategy of silence a Touchdown (see “Quickdraw’ Fumble by my colleague Orli). After all, it’s hard to think of a consumer electronics device which has gotten more publicity, before, during and after its launch. Oh wait, there was this phone a few years ago…

What’s your call?