12/30/25 – – With a new administration in Washington, a fractured media landscape and the accelerating advance of artificial intelligence, the final year of the 21st century’s first quarter was a crisis-rich environment for organizations and individuals.
In my blog posts over the last 12 months, I’ve focused on the year’s most important, actionable lessons in crisis prevention, preparedness and response – – expanding upon and updating the themes in The Crisis Preparedness Quotient. To close out 2025, here are 10 lessons worth reviewing as we head into 2026.
1. Avoiding Politics Is Good for Business
The political environment in 2025 was beyond toxic. Having witnessed the reputational risks that come with social and political activism, corporate managements stuck to business. Most CEOs rejected the pressure to speak out on events and issues not directly related to their products or purpose.
Elon Musk’s brief starring role in the Trump administration and the aggressive anti-MAGA views expressed by cast members of Disney’s live-action remake of “Snow White” demonstrated the dangers of stepping out of character. Burning Teslas and empty movie theaters were frightening enough scenes to keep corporate leaders away from the briar patch of politics.
2. There Are Consequences for Executives Behaving Badly
A cavalier attitude toward rules by the leaders who make and are expected to enforce them damaged the culture and performance of organizations throughout the year.
Laurent Freixe of Nestlé and Ashley Buchanan of Kohl’s were two of the chief executives shown the door because of improper workplace relationships. And earlier this month University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore was dismissed because of his affair with a staff member. Moore ended up in jail the same day he was fired after breaking into her home and threatening suicide.
The year’s juiciest corporate scandal erupted online in July after two senior executives of the enterprise software company Astronomer were caught embracing by a “kiss cam” while attending a Coldplay concert. The jumbotron video of CEO Andy Byron and HR head Kristin Cabot (both were married at the time to other people) went viral on TikTok, leading to embarrassment and disruption for the company and its executives.
3. Speed is Critical to Effective Crisis Response
The initial silence from Astronomer as millions viewed the Coldplay concert video online underscored the importance of digital diligence in today’s 24/7 interconnected world. Given the velocity of online communication, organizations thrust into an unfaltering spotlight must be prepared to engage instantly, even as events are unclear and still unfolding.
Crisis response protocols and processes must be in place to facilitate the prompt development, approval and release of at least a holding statement when caught in this kind of storm. Initial statements don’t have to be perfect. Their purpose is to demonstrate the company’s awareness, attention and authority (“we’ve seen/heard the reports . . . we’re assessing the matter . . . and WE will be issuing further information when we know more”).
4. Privacy Is a Thing of the Past
I don’t want to keep picking on Astronomer, but we learned throughout the year that there can no longer be any expectation of privacy anywhere, anytime. Everyone with a smart phone is a videographer and audio engineer. Candid videos uploaded to internet platforms instantly spread the most troubling moments in all settings to millions of viewers around the world.
In November, a former Campbell’s employee sued the food company claiming he was fired after reporting a troubling conversation he had with a senior executive. The plaintiff secretly recorded his potty-mouthed superior disparaging Indian coworkers, saying Campbell’s “highly processed” products are made “for poor people,” and doubting that the chicken in the company’s soup is real.
When the plaintiff’s attorney released the recording to the media, what should have been a manageable personnel matter boiled over into an embarrassing reputational storm for the venerable brand.
5. Communicating Change Requires Care
Change is inevitable. And it should be a positive strategy even for the most established brands. But when managements communicate new directions without proper understanding and respect for existing customers, change can be mistaken for betrayal.
In May, WW International (formally known as Weight Watchers) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which for decades stood for dietary discipline, self-control and group support, acquired a subscription telehealth platform in 2023 offering obesity medications like Ozempic. Being offered the choice to substitute pill power for will power, WW’s core customers felt abandoned and fled.
As auto manufacturer Jaguar and restaurant chain Cracker Barrel experienced this year, even a new logo design, if unveiled without sensitivity, can turn off brand enthusiasts. A cardinal rule in marketing and crisis prevention is, “Love the customers you have.” Never take them for granted. If they feel betrayed, it’s hard to get them back.
6. Ill-Conceived Corporate Policies Create Crises in the Field
We were also reminded during the year of the importance of sensitivity in setting corporate policies. Employees in the field are too often required to enforce ill-conceived policies developed at headquarters that create conflict and confrontation.
Shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a Starbucks customer asked to have Kirk’s name written on her coffee cup. The barista denied the request, explaining that she is prohibited form writing anything political on cups. Interpreted as a display of cultural bias, the barista’s coffee cup censorship set off a fire storm of anger against the company.
It shouldn’t be surprising that encouraging baristas to initiate potentially explosive conversations or write anything personal on coffee cups has led to trouble. Creating artificial opportunities for “connection” with consumers (Starbucks baristas are already busy smiling and getting you your coffee) comes with far more risk than reward.
7. AI Has Changed the Way Humans Search for Information
Google’s “AI Overviews,” introduced earlier this year, fundamentally changed the nature of web search. Generative artificial intelligence summaries now appear ahead of the listing of relevant web links we’d come to expect after Googling a topic.
This sea change in search, providing answers rather than suggesting paths to discovery, has created new challenges for companies and communicators.
A primary PR objective used to be to get links with positive information about your brand or company listed on the first page of Google search results. The new goal is to get your company and its positions included in a positive light in the overviews. Search engine optimization (SEO) has given way to generative engine optimization (GEO).
Figuring out what AI programs like Google Gemini, Perplexity AI, Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT are reading, and developing content (owned, earned and shared) to get the attention of these large language models will continue to shape communications strategy and programming into 2026 and beyond.
8. So Far, Layoffs Have Been AI’s Most Tangible Investment Dividend
With investors demanding dividends from massive AI capital spending (which for the most part has delivered disappointing results), layoffs were in the news throughout the year. According to the HR consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, employers announced 1,170,821 job cuts through November. That’s a 54% increase over the first 11 months of 2024, and the highest level since 2020.
As they reduced headcount, companies faced the challenge of balancing their “see how much money we can save with AI” messages with assurances that “with AI we are better serving our customers and our people are more productive.”
Surviving employees, even those who enthusiastically use AI in their jobs, reported declining trust in management’s promise of a brighter future emerging from the disruption. And consumers were not entirely convinced that AI service representatives are better than humans in understanding and addressing their needs.
9. Cyberattacks Are an Increasing Threat
Cyber security was more important than ever in 2025, with major cyberattacks disrupting a range of organizations from universities and government agencies to the luxury fashion group Kering and the web platform LinkedIn.
In November, AI company Anthropic, who you’d think has very sophisticated cyber defenses, disclosed that an “AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign” had enabled attackers to perform “reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, exploitation, lateral movement, credential harvesting, data analysis, and exfiltration operations largely autonomously.”
I don’t know what all that means, but it sure sounds like something you don’t want your company to experience.
Organizations of all sizes took steps to prevent and be prepared to respond to these attacks, formalizing Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and cyber-event communication plans. CERT drills now include multi-stakeholder communications components to simulate the reputational challenges of these events.
10. Disinformation Makes It Tougher to be Authentic
Given the amazing abilities of AI, it was harder to protect hard-earned identities, reputations and trademarks in 2025. And it’s only going to get harder to determine if what we’re seeing online is real.
Of course, misinformation campaigns have been around forever. There are great PR tales about competitive New York delicatessen owners in the 1930s and 40s hiring bus riders to loudly discuss false food contamination claims during rush hour. “Hey Harriet, you wouldn’t believe how sick my whole family got this weekend after eating at Danny’s Deli.”
But with the reach and speed of social media, falsehoods that appear to be authentic (even fake AI-generated celebrity spokespeople look and sound real) can do widespread damage in minutes.
The best defenses combine new-age AI-powered web surveillance tools with old-school proactive PR strategies. It’s never been more important to establish your reputation by fulfilling your purpose, telling your story and maintaining dialogue through multiple communication channels with internal and external stakeholders. Those are the timeless fundamentals of good public relations.
Then, if you are the target of a disinformation attack, the lies are less likely to be believed and employees, customers, communities and reporters know where to go to affirm the truth. Familiarity and trust are disinformation’s kryptonite.
So, that’s a wrap for 2025. Consider starting the new year by gathering your communications team to discuss these 10 lessons. How are they relevant to your company’s reputational challenges?
Thanks for reading my stuff and here’s to a happy, crisis-free New Year!
Crisis Quotient Blog 