Reviewer: Hannah Harrison
To describe Mitt Romney’s Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games as a simple reflection on his time with the Salt Lake City Olympics Committee (SLOC) would undermine the story of the biggest turnaround challenge of his life. The pages of this book reveal the intimate details of how the SLOC succeeded against all odds in hosting one of the greatest Olympic Games ever. Romney embraced this organization plagued with scandal, financial instability and terrorist threats and transformed it into a gold medal, Olympic performance. Romney provides readers with an impressive account of what effective management and leadership can do during times of adversity.
While Romney portrays the critical elements necessary for navigating an organization through a crisis, he especially highlights the importance of crafting a favorable public perception. After the accusations of bribery were found to be true, the reputation of the SLOC suffered immensely. All conversations surrounding the Salt Lake Olympics began with expressions of incredulity about the scandal. For the Salt Lake Olympics, this negative reputation had to be solved quickly because it not only impacted marketing efforts, but ticket sales, donations, volunteering, and government financial support.
Romney’s account on reforming the face of the Salt Lake Olympics is impressively detailed in chapter nine. At the outset of the crisis, Romney assembled a team of esteemed PR professionals to help restore confidence in the SLOC. The team established open and accessible communications with the media and stakeholders, which would help achieve this goal. The team actively pursued personal relationships with local and national reporters and established an open document policy. These initiatives ensured the SLOC would be treated fairly when the time came for these reporters to write and publish stories about the Salt Lake Olympics. In addition, the team recognized the important of single voice messaging during a crisis and appointed Romney as the “face” of the SLOC. This led to stories receiving better placement and better visibility because every message from the organization was consistent. Even though most professionals prefer to avoid negative media attention during a crisis, Romney and his team embraced the method of “defusing the bomb.” They worked proactively to release all negative information before the media could get a hold of the story. For instance, the SLOC released a disclaimer that all seating in the Delta Center had partially obstructed views to avoid receiving any media attention for providing ticketholders with unfair seating.
Turnaround unfolds the story of exemplary leadership at the height of an impending international crisis through the first-hand account of the persistent and strategic efforts of the SLOC public relations team. Even though the book encompasses all the aspects of rebuilding an organization, I believe the chapter nine would serve as an insightful read for any crisis communications class.
Hannah Harrison
To describe Mitt Romney’s Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games as a simple reflection on his time with the Salt Lake City Olympics Committee (SLOC) would undermine the story of the biggest turnaround challenge of his life. The pages of this book reveal the intimate details of how the SLOC succeeded against all odds in hosting one of the greatest Olympic Games ever. Romney embraced this organization plagued with scandal, financial instability and terrorist threats and transformed it into a gold medal, Olympic performance. Romney provides readers with an impressive account of what effective management and leadership can do during times of adversity.
While Romney portrays the critical elements necessary for navigating an organization through a crisis, he especially highlights the importance of crafting a favorable public perception. After the accusations of bribery were found to be true, the reputation of the SLOC suffered immensely. All conversations surrounding the Salt Lake Olympics began with expressions of incredulity about the scandal. For the Salt Lake Olympics, this negative reputation had to be solved quickly because it not only impacted marketing efforts, but ticket sales, donations, volunteering, and government financial support.
Romney’s account on reforming the face of the Salt Lake Olympics is impressively detailed in chapter nine. At the outset of the crisis, Romney assembled a team of esteemed PR professionals to help restore confidence in the SLOC. The team established open and accessible communications with the media and stakeholders, which would help achieve this goal. The team actively pursued personal relationships with local and national reporters and established an open document policy. These initiatives ensured the SLOC would be treated fairly when the time came for these reporters to write and publish stories about the Salt Lake Olympics. In addition, the team recognized the important of single voice messaging during a crisis and appointed Romney as the “face” of the SLOC. This led to stories receiving better placement and better visibility because every message from the organization was consistent. Even though most professionals prefer to avoid negative media attention during a crisis, Romney and his team embraced the method of “defusing the bomb.” They worked proactively to release all negative information before the media could get a hold of the story. For instance, the SLOC released a disclaimer that all seating in the Delta Center had partially obstructed views to avoid receiving any media attention for providing ticketholders with unfair seating.
Turnaround unfolds the story of exemplary leadership at the height of an impending international crisis through the first-hand account of the persistent and strategic efforts of the SLOC public relations team. Even though the book encompasses all the aspects of rebuilding an organization, I believe the chapter nine would serve as an insightful read for any crisis communications class.
Hannah Harrison