5 New Practice #5: The Pre-Crisis Doctor When calamity strikes at a company, reputation and crisis manage- ment become a priority. The executives immediately call in the PR team to identify and neutralize the situation by creating an appropriate response to the public outcry. Why is the PR team called upon after the crisis occurs? As a communications professional, you should be thinking proactively about the possible levels of crisis escalation long before an issue arises. In social media, the conversations are in the public view and through technology are easy to find and address. That's the good news. Unfortunately, the public's mainstream use of social media can become rapid-fire, turning the slightly negative molehill of a situation into a full- blown mountain of catastrophe for your company. You need to be well informed and have intelligence at your fingertips. You and your peers must also be trained in social crisis management. Preparing and handling