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| Jon Henes |
In boardrooms and war rooms, on earnings calls and in courtrooms, a company’s future often comes down to three questions: What is communicated? When is it communicated? And how is it heard by the stakeholders who matter most?
When you’re navigating a special situation—activism, Chapter 11, litigation, crisis—the line between business strategy and communications disappears. One reinforces the other. One can break the other. The riskiest move is to treat communications like a cosmetic layer instead of what it truly is: a tactical, operational force that drives clarity, confidence and control.
Communications isn’t about press releases. Communications is strategy; communications is tactics. And it’s often the difference between true success and merely getting by. Strategic communications must be approached as a mission: plan thoroughly, move precisely, adapt constantly and never leave your teammates behind.
Protect the process
Leaks are landmines. One misjudged statement or an internal message forwarded out of context can collapse a strategic plan. Tactical communications leaders don’t just write talking points—they protect against risk.
That means working in tight sync with legal, IR and the executive team to establish airtight message controls. It means planning for worst-case scenarios, modeling potential blowback and preparing rapid responses before the first question is even asked.
In special situations, silence can be a strength. But when you speak, every word must be earned—and every syllable planned.
Stakeholders aren’t just an audience
Employees, creditors, customers, regulators, media—these stakeholders don’t stand on the sidelines. In a crisis, they’re in the arena. Each one can accelerate your turnaround or complicate your exit. Each one must be communicated with precision, intentionality and care.
Great communications advisors don’t broadcast. They orchestrate. They tailor messages to each audience, understand what each stakeholder fears most and build trust on an emotional level. They know that a consistent and authentic tone and cadence, across internal and external fronts, isn’t a luxury. It is the strategy.
| This article is featured in O'Dwyer's Aug. '25 Financial PR/IR & Professional Services PR Magazine |
Prepare relentlessly
The company isn’t just delivering a message. It’s positioning itself for success in uncertain times.
From media interviews to courtroom testimony to town halls with anxious employees, the pressure is unrelenting. Tactical communications teams help executives move forward, coaching voice, tone and clarity under stress. Q&A is mapped out. Tough questions are rehearsed. No one walks in cold. Everyone is prepared. That’s how teams perform flawlessly.
Information is critical
In normal times, gut instinct might carry a message. In special situations, leaders need to gather information, understand the terrain and then communicate purposefully.
Elite communications teams test every key message before launch. They listen to employee leaders, take the pulse of top investors, anticipate journalist framing and stress-test assumptions. Communications must be honest, consistent and intentional. It can’t be off-the-cuff; it must be precise and tactical, rooted in feedback, data and real-time adjustments.
Control timing
In a special situation, timing determines messaging. A statement made two hours too early or a day too late can spark confusion or sink confidence. Communications leaders work backward from legal deadlines, board meetings, earnings calls and media cycles to stage each move with precision. The cadence must be deliberate. The silence must be strategic. Every beat matters. Poor timing creates chaos. Precise timing creates control.
The team that wins the fight
In special situations, companies don’t simply need advice. They need expert teams. Not a collection of individuals, but a mission-aligned unit that operates with shared urgency, mutual trust and zero ego. Where legal, IR, HR, finance and communications move together. Where no one breaks formation. Where people don’t protect their turf, they protect each other.
In these moments, communications isn’t an outsider waiting to be told what to write. It’s the connective tissue. It holds the message, the momentum and the mission together. Because in high-stakes environments, trust is the strategy. And alignment is the key.
Today’s path
Special situations don’t reward playbooks. They reward clarity, coordination and command of the message. The best leaders know that communications isn’t a support function—it’s a strategic discipline. It doesn’t follow the business plan. It’s part of the business plan, translated in real time to the people whose actions will determine the outcome.
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Jon Henes is Founder and CEO of C Street Advisory Group, LLC.
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