When James Cerrato arrived at his Quincy, Massachusetts, offices on December 7, 2002, he was shocked by the mob scene. "It was just like the movies," says Cerrato, cofounder and chief product officer of software company Ptech. "Lights, TV cameras, reporters asking questions every time I took a step."
The previous night, the company had agreed to let the FBI, Customs, and other agencies search their offices. The government was asking Ptech questions about Yasin Al-Qadi, a Saudi who had been a board member of Sarmany Ltd., a company that invested in Ptech in 1994. Al-Qadi's financial ties to Ptech were severed in 1999, but in the wake of September 11, his name turned up on the Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (the government reportedly believes Al-Qadi has ties with Al Qaeda).
Cerrato emphasizes that Al-Qadi never played any management role at Ptech, and, for the record, says, "Ptech strongly condemns any activities by terrorists and fully supports the government's activities to locate and bring all terrorists to justice." To date, no charges have been brought against Ptech (U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan denied repeated requests to comment). Cerrato, meanwhile, learned some valuable lessons about managing a PR crisis:
1. Stay on message, be resilient, and maintain a calm tone. "People follow the lead of those at the top. Keep to your vision," Cerrato advises.
2. Nurture your customers. "Personal relationships are everything in business. Don't ignore the situation. Face up to it, and tell your clients why you'll get through this."
3. "It's important to be media-savvy. Check out the kinds of stories a particular journalist writes, and decide whom you can trust. Don't let reporters set the agenda."
4. Get media training before there's a crisis, then let PR experts devise a response. As PR firm Hill & Knowlton taught Cerrato, "every question is an opportunity to return to your key message." Cerrato concedes that Ptech should have held a press conference early on: "That gets your message out unfiltered."
5. Surround yourself with people you can trust. A former Ptech employee gave incorrect statements to the media,contradicting what Ptech told the government. Says Cerrato, "It took time and energy to repair the problems caused by this loose cannon."
