CATALYST19

Samples

What the work looks like

A holding statement is a few plain sentences you can use before you have every fact: what you know, what you're doing and when you'll say more. Below is one, plus the Hot Seat debrief it comes with and one week of Fractional Communications Chief work.

All three are invented. No client, no real company, no real event. AI drafted them. When AI drafts yours, I'll say so.

Sample Hot Seat debrief

What a leader takes home from a Hot Seat, $3,500 for one session of 60 to 90 minutes. One page, written for the leader and the communications lead.

Invented example. Not a client.

Hot Seat debrief

Leader
CEO of a regional company
Sitting in
The communications lead
Session
75 minutes by video, three rounds

The scenario

Some customers' personal records got out. The team found it on the 3rd. Customers got a letter on the 12th. A local TV reporter has the CEO for five minutes at the end of the day.

The three hardest questions

  1. "Your team found this on the 3rd. Customers heard on the 12th. Who knew, and when did they know it?"

    First take: You opened with "We take our customers' privacy very seriously" and got to the dates about 40 seconds in. On the playback, the dates were the part worth quoting, and they came last.

    Third take: You led with the dates, then said what the nine days were for: finding out whose records were involved, so every letter told people what to do. Twenty seconds. Use this one.

  2. "So either you didn't know what was going on in your own company, or you knew and kept quiet. Which is it?"

    First take: "We weren't hiding anything." That puts "hiding" in the headline, in your voice.

    Second take: You stepped out of the choice: "We knew on the 3rd. We used those days to find out whose records were involved." You didn't repeat the reporter's words. Use this one.

  3. "Can you promise my viewers this won't happen again?"

    First take: "Absolutely." That's a promise nobody can keep, and it's the clip if anything ever happens again.

    Second take: "I'll tell you what we changed this week, and how customers can reach us if they're worried." Then you stopped talking. Stopping is the hard part.

What you decided

  • The dates go first, every time, in every channel.
  • The customer phone number goes in every statement and every interview.
  • You do one interview. The communications lead takes the rest of the reporter calls.

What to fix

  • "We take this very seriously." You said it four times in round one. Cut it, and say what you did instead.
  • Leave the reporter's words with the reporter. "Hiding," "kept quiet" and "cover-up" are theirs.
  • Your answers ran long when you weren't sure of a fact. "I don't know yet, and I'll have it for you by Friday" is a full answer.

What to practice next

  • Say the timeline out loud in under 20 seconds. Three times a day until the interview.
  • Have your communications lead ask question 2 a different way each day this week.
  • Practice one bridge: from any yes-or-no question back to what customers should do.

You leave a Hot Seat with a debrief like this one and a draft holding statement like the next sample. In Jacksonville? The Hot Seat runs in person or by video.

Sample holding statement, draft for counsel

A holding statement buys you time when a reporter calls before you have every fact. It says what you know, what you're doing and when you'll say more. Every one I write is a draft for your lawyer to review.

Invented example. Not a client.

Draft for counsel. Not legal advice.

Holding statement

For
Reporter calls and customer questions until the full statement is approved
Speaker
[Name, title]
Status
Draft. Not approved for release.

On [the 3rd], we learned that some customers' personal information may have been exposed. We [secured the affected system] the same day and brought in [an outside firm] to find out exactly what happened.

On [the 12th], we wrote to each customer whose information was involved, with steps they can take now. Anyone with questions can call [phone number] or visit [web address].

We're sorry this happened. We'll share more by [day and time].

Notes for counsel

  • Every bracket is a fact to confirm before release.
  • The apology line: keep it, change it or cut it. Your call.
  • State breach notice laws may set what customers must be told and when. Please check each state where affected customers live.
  • Left out on purpose until it's confirmed: the cause, the number of customers, and any line about misuse.

Sample week of Fractional Communications Chief work

One week of a leader's words, written in their voice: a staff note, a Monday read for the morning huddle, and three short posts. The Fractional Communications Chief is $5,000 a month.

Invented example. Not a client.

One week of words

Leader
Owner of a home services company, about 60 people, most of them in trucks
How it works
AI drafts. Ben edits. The operations manager approves each piece before it goes out.

Staff note

Email to all staff, Tuesday

Subject: The after-hours phone, starting Monday

Team,

Starting Monday, the after-hours phone moves to a rotation. You'll find your week on the board in the shop by Friday.

Here's why. Three people have carried nights since spring. That's too much for three people, and tired people make mistakes on ladders.

If your week doesn't work, trade with someone and tell the office by Thursday. If you can't find a trade, come see me.

To the three of you who've been picking up at 2 a.m.: thank you. You know who you are. Now everybody else does too.

[Owner's first name]

Monday read

Read out loud at the 7 a.m. huddle. About a minute.

Morning, everybody. Three things.

One. Heat. It's going to feel like 100 by noon. Water in every truck before you roll. If you're in an attic, 20 minutes in, 10 minutes out. Nobody gets a medal for heatstroke.

Two. The after-hours rotation starts tonight. Your week's on the board by the door. Trades go through the office.

Three. A customer called Friday to thank the crew on the water heater job for laying drop cloths down the whole hallway. Nobody asked them to. That's how we get the next call.

Be safe out there. Let's go.

Three short posts

Post 1: hiring

We're hiring two service techs. Here's a real day: a 7 a.m. huddle, four or five calls, a truck that's stocked when you climb in, and home by dinner most nights. If that beats what you've got, send us a note.

Post 2: a tip

AC running but the house won't cool? Before you call anybody, pull the filter. If you can't see light through it, swap it and give it an hour. Still warm? Call us.

Post 3: a thank-you

Three of our techs carried the after-hours phone all summer. Starting this week, the whole team shares it. They earned the sleep. Thank you.

Want this for your own desk?

Yours would start from your situation and your voice. A named person on your team approves everything before it goes out, and I tell you when AI drafted something.

Book 20 minutesSee the three jobs and prices