OK, so we’ve been picking apart the BP Gulf Oil Spill in the last several posts, but for good reason. The disaster in the Gulf has been a text book case study about what to do – and NOT do – in a crisis situation. While BP has handled some things correctly – near full disclosure about what it’s doing to plug the well (complete with a video feed made available to every news outlet showing the leak in real time) – it has monumentally botched others.

Crisis communications is not rocket science. It is based on very clear and exacting principles: measured, accurate information; a focus on the facts; and, perhaps most important, accountability.

The fact that MSNBC is doing a story on the missteps of BP’s CEO is testament that the company has gone to far astray from proper PR protocol to come back. But other corporations should take note and learn from BP’s mistakes.

Hire a PR firm to train top execs in case of emergency BEFORE the worst happens. And if a problem arises, craft messages carefully and STAY ON SCRIPT.