The Sellnow Group

The right words at the right time save lives. It seems such a simple prescription for a kinder, gentler world in this day and age when crises—local, national and international—are sun-coming-up occurrences. Crises often begin as minor issues that, when left unattended or attended to inadequately, evolve into serious problems. If not confronted early, a problem can become a crisis. A crisis can be the harborer of death or injury, loss of company value, and the possible meltdown of reputations that have taken years to establish. "Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless," —Warren Buffett, billionaire investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Examining the DNA of crises and offering communication solutions to avoid, diminish and recover is the life work of Drs. Deanna and Timothy Sellnow at the University of Central Florida, whether tackling an ongoing seismic event or managing potential threats embedded in risk situations. Their work has led them to advise and conduct research for the Department of Homeland Security, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S Department of Agriculture and the World Health Association, among others. They have written dozens of articles and books and spoken at forums worldwide from their platforms as risk managers, crisis counselors, and influential academic research scholars in the field of strategic communication. The Sellnow team aims to offer clarity and order to this oft-misunderstood discipline and bring a more renewal-based approach to crisis management and recovery through better communication practices. In other words, they look for opportunities in crises. They base their approach—a diversion from much of the current research in the crisis field—on examining the crisis itself and creating a dialogue aimed at shifting a focus to renewal.