Reviewer: Alison Puzia
ABC’s hit television series, Scandal, follows the life of Olivia Pope, a crisis communication expert in Washington, D.C., out to handle some of the stickiest situations our nation’s representatives find themselves in. Scandal is exactly as it sounds: too scandalous to believe. Well, believe it. Scandal and Pope’s storyline are based loosely on the life of Judy Smith, a real-life professional crisis “fixer.” Smith details her career’s highs and lows in her autobiography/ help book, “Good Self, Bad Self: How to Bounce Back from a Personal Crisis.”
Throughout her book, Judy Smith uses real-life examples from her career to illustrate to readers the importance of handling a crisis and, more importantly, how they can handle a crisis. Smith’s determination for helping her clients out of the most difficult jams provides an excellent example for any aspiring crisis manager. This easy-to-read book hooks the reader with juicy crises experienced by real-life public figures, while simultaneously providing a moral element, as the reader can learn from Smith’s expert crisis management strategies. Smith helps her readers analyze what areas they excel in. She shows readers how to can utilize skills they already possess when it comes to handling a crisis situation. These skills are applicable in many crisis situations, including a company crisis, a client crisis, and personal crisis. Interesting tales of her work handling scandals such as the Clinton affair and the Enron crisis will resonate with readers who remember reading about these scandals in the newspapers. Though it is a self-help book, in a way, “Good Self, Bad Self” does not have the air of any typical self-help book, as Smith’s recollections of her experiences provide an excellent balance of advice and scandal.
I would highly recommend “Good Self, Bad Self: How to Bounce Back from a Personal Crisis.” Anyone interested in crisis management, in the public relations field, or in a crisis-handling position will enjoy this book. While this book is a helpful tool for learning how to deal with a crisis, it is an even more important resource for teaching how to prevent a crisis. Therefore, this book is most helpful when read before a crisis occurs, as it can help teach skills to mitigate pre-crisis factors that could develop into a crisis.
Alison Puzia
ABC’s hit television series, Scandal, follows the life of Olivia Pope, a crisis communication expert in Washington, D.C., out to handle some of the stickiest situations our nation’s representatives find themselves in. Scandal is exactly as it sounds: too scandalous to believe. Well, believe it. Scandal and Pope’s storyline are based loosely on the life of Judy Smith, a real-life professional crisis “fixer.” Smith details her career’s highs and lows in her autobiography/ help book, “Good Self, Bad Self: How to Bounce Back from a Personal Crisis.”
Throughout her book, Judy Smith uses real-life examples from her career to illustrate to readers the importance of handling a crisis and, more importantly, how they can handle a crisis. Smith’s determination for helping her clients out of the most difficult jams provides an excellent example for any aspiring crisis manager. This easy-to-read book hooks the reader with juicy crises experienced by real-life public figures, while simultaneously providing a moral element, as the reader can learn from Smith’s expert crisis management strategies. Smith helps her readers analyze what areas they excel in. She shows readers how to can utilize skills they already possess when it comes to handling a crisis situation. These skills are applicable in many crisis situations, including a company crisis, a client crisis, and personal crisis. Interesting tales of her work handling scandals such as the Clinton affair and the Enron crisis will resonate with readers who remember reading about these scandals in the newspapers. Though it is a self-help book, in a way, “Good Self, Bad Self” does not have the air of any typical self-help book, as Smith’s recollections of her experiences provide an excellent balance of advice and scandal.
I would highly recommend “Good Self, Bad Self: How to Bounce Back from a Personal Crisis.” Anyone interested in crisis management, in the public relations field, or in a crisis-handling position will enjoy this book. While this book is a helpful tool for learning how to deal with a crisis, it is an even more important resource for teaching how to prevent a crisis. Therefore, this book is most helpful when read before a crisis occurs, as it can help teach skills to mitigate pre-crisis factors that could develop into a crisis.
Alison Puzia