Your Award Recipient Is in the News Overnight

The person you are honouring tonight is the subject of a serious investigative story published at 06:00. Six hundred people, three sponsors and two reporters are coming to dinner.

Setting: Industry awards gala, 600 guests, hotel ballroom, day of the event. Category: Crisis Communications. Pressure level: High.

This page is the individual, citable address for this one situation: https://gatheringarchitecture.com/crisis-sim/scenario/honoree-scandal

The situation

The story is detailed, sourced and serious. Your honouree's lawyer says the allegations are contested and he intends to attend. Your chair is on holiday. Doors open in eleven hours.

First moves and what each one costs

• Convene your board by phone within the hour, speak to the honouree directly, and decide before noon — By 11:30 you have a decision, a line and the honouree's knowledge of it. Every later conversation is now easier.
• Wait until the chair is reachable this evening — Reporters, sponsors and guests all ask before your chair calls back. Your staff say 'no comment' for nine hours, which reads as endorsement.
• Announce the award is withdrawn immediately, before speaking to him — Fast, and he learns from social media. If the allegations later collapse, so does your defence of the process.

Preparation notes for this situation

• Decide in advance what standard would cause you to withdraw an honour, and write it into the award terms
• Speak to the honouree before you decide, and tell them your decision before you tell the room
• Do not stage an award you would not defend from the podium tomorrow
• Sponsors should hear from you before they hear from their own communications teams

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