Drones Over Jersey

TJ White

While there’s plenty going on in the world to opine on—the fall of the Assad regime, the assassination of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, South Korea’s President declaring Martial Law—perhaps the most perplexing issue plaguing our screens is the ongoing drone sightings across New Jersey.

As countless talking heads drone on and on—my one and only pun, I swear—every night about the possible causes for these beams of light hovering overhead, the conspiracy theories are officially running rampant. I’m certain that by the time this op-ed prints, we’ll have greater clarity as to the rationale for these drones, but currently, government agencies are forgetting the most important rule of crisis communications: if you don’t control the narrative, someone else will.

As of today, guesses as to the provenance of the drones have ranged from Iran, to government searches for a lost nuclear device to “you’re not seeing drones,” all of which make it even more challenging for the truth to ever come out and be trusted. Alas, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security originally communicated that final point, but DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas later stated, “I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” a frustrating flip-flop that further sows doubt among the public. Simply put, it appears that government officials waited too long to find out what was happening and to communicate it. As a result, they’ve now lost the ability to assuage public concern.

In the early innings—even if you’re not sure that something is yet a crisis—it’s important to consider a few things:

You must know who your stakeholders are, what they care about, and when they need to know something. Regardless of who’s in control of the drones, government officials didn’t adequately consider who would care about them, their propensity for wanting to understand what was happening and how quickly they needed to know before they went elsewhere for information.

If you don’t know something, you need to know who to call to know it quickly. Perhaps the biggest issue with this entire ordeal is it appears no one knew who to go to for information. Complete miscommunication from local, state and federal officials created inconsistent messaging devoid of credibility.

Situations evolve rapidly; so, too, does misinformation. We remain in a period when public trust in the government is at a historic low, making it even more critical that government officials get out in front of topics ripe for conspiracy theorists. Days of conjecture and lack of clarity have led to an environment where the true cause for these drones may never be known, and answers certainly won’t be trusted. If you start to feel like you may be losing the narrative, chances are you have.

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s obvious that officials across the Northeast would like a do-over on this topic. While transparency is a good policy, it’s not always possible, particularly when you don’t have all the information you need. But in the face of issues like these, lessons can and should be learned.

The best offense is a good defense, and companies should take this as an opportunity to get their respective houses in order. Crisis preparedness is the best defense to issues like this arising, and stress testing those plans through tabletop exercises allows for the highest degree of confidence that an organization can not only survive but thrive through a crisis.

For any of your crisis preparedness or management needs, Sloane & Company’s Special Situations Practice is at your disposal.

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TJ White is Managing Director, Head of Special Situations at Sloane & Company.