Crisis Communications 101: The Real Cost of Staying Silent

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Reviving Giants kicks off Season 2 with Ben Rosner, senior advisor at MACCO and founder of Anabasis Partners. This conversation on crisis communications delves into why the decisions companies make in the first hours of a crisis can shape their fate for years. Drew McManigle and Ben trace Ben's unique path from diplomacy to the Israeli military to corporate crisis advising, and what that journey taught him about communicating under pressure. The conversation moves from the anatomy of an effective crisis "war room," to why silence is read as an admission of guilt in the social media era, to real cases — a distressed Midwest hospital, the Activision Blizzard fallout — that show what's at stake when companies get the narrative wrong.

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🎧 Episode Highlights

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[00:01:00] Ben's background: growing up on a Kibbutz in Israel, not speaking English until age 8, and a childhood surrounded by diplomats.

[00:02:45] The blocked-number phone call that led to Ben joining the IDF Spokesperson's Unit — and eventually advising the Chief of the General Staff.

[00:05:26] The biggest mistake companies make in a crisis: there's no real infrastructure in place to make fast, coordinated decisions.

[00:06:14] Anatomy of an effective "war room" — roughly six people, including the CEO, COO or chief of staff, internal and external legal counsel, and dedicated crisis communications counsel.

[00:08:47] The WARN notice: why every stakeholder needs a message built for them specifically.

[00:11:00] Why the traditional news cycle no longer exists, and the Reuters Institute stat that 54% of Americans now get their news from social media.

[00:13:00] The rise of anonymous finance meme accounts like Litquidity, and how they've flipped the power dynamic between traditional and social media.

[00:16:00] A leadership story: preparing General Herzi Halevi to brief 20 European ambassadors, and the moment that reframed how Ben saw communication at the highest levels.

[00:20:00] Why silence is increasingly read by the public as an admission of guilt — and the legal reasoning that sometimes drives companies to go quiet anyway.

[00:26:00] The Activision Blizzard cautionary tale: winning every legal battle, losing $8 billion in value and the company's independence.

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🔑 Key Takeaways

-Silence creates a vacuum, and someone else — employees, competitors, or the press — will fill it with their own narrative. In a crisis, not communicating can be a costly strategy.

-Winning in court doesn't guarantee survival. Companies can win every legal battle and still lose their reputation, their workforce, and ultimately their independence — the Activision Blizzard example shows how fast that can happen.

-Crisis response needs dedicated infrastructure before crisis hits. A small, standing "war room" of business decision-makers, internal and external legal counsel, and experienced crisis communications counsel.

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🎙️ About the GuestBen Rosner, Senior Advisor, MACCO / Founder, Anabasis Partners

Ben Rosner advises CEOs and boards on communication as it relates to crises, restructuring, and litigation. His background spans corporate, military, and diplomatic communications. He studied at Columbia University, represented Israel at the UN Security Council, and served as a policy advisor and speechwriter in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs before moving into corporate communications at FGS Global, one of the top crisis and financial communications firms in the world. He later joined the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, eventually advising senior generals across the Navy, Intelligence, and Air Force, including the Chief of the General Staff. Today, through Anabasis Partners and as a senior advisor at MACCO, he helps companies navigate high-stakes moments where reputation and enterprise value are on the line.