Last week one of Spain's leading experts in crisis communication died in Pamplona. Enrique Alcat gone too soon. Only 51 years old. I still remember how I helped him plan his trip to Santander in August last year. He wanted to prepare it carefully because his guest was his mother. He would send me photos of the different places he was visiting... and as we went along we would improvise new visits.
Enrique has been one of Spain's leading communication experts. Where there was talk of crisis communication, regaining reputation or the business prestige... companies and institutions quickly turned to him. Throughout his prolific business career, he participated in the management of 120 business crises and implemented different strategies to deal with them. Enrique said that "the problem is that 95% of companies don't have a manual for dealing with these situations". Alcat, who directed the Communication Programme at IE Business School, also reminded us that there is only one key to repairing the damage: to anticipate.
"The problem has to be seen beforehand. You have to be prepared. People analyse the crisis when it is already in the media. In Spain, managers only worry about the numbers," he warned the group of business people attending the Observatory.
For Enrique, it was a mistake to revive the image with advertising alone. In recent times, he cited the financial system as an example of mismanagement in communication. "Something that was sacred has been touched: the relationship of trust between the bank and the customer. This rupture cannot be changed with a patch of advertising or a change of slogan. When things are done badly, it is necessary to carry out a communication campaign, to recognise the blame and to rectify the damage caused". He had a maxim for crisis communication that he repeated ad nauseam: "it is better to inform too little in time than too much at the wrong time. There are crises that cannot wait 15 days for the words of the person in charge because a newspaper headline can sink a company".
Accomplished to the end. On the same day of his death, last Thursday, "La tormenta perfecta" (The perfect storm) was released, in which 10 crisis cases (Nóos, the ERE in Andalusia, Bárcenas, the Gibraltar conflict...) are exposed, the way they have been managed and how they should have been managed.
Enrique was always looking for a gap in his busy schedule of meetings and trips to meet for lunch, give good advice or lend a hand. Always. That is why, in April last year, we were lucky enough to have him as a guest at the "Observatorio Proa de la Comunicación". At that time he was promoting his book: "Influye" (Influence). I will keep the phrase he always repeated and which serves as a reminder: "the important thing is to influence in a positive way". Thank you for everything, Enrique. Farewell.
Lucía Casanueva