It's more than the Boy Scout motto. Anticipating a crisis and being prepared is the best advice any company can take.

Yet, most companies' Achilles Heal in a crisis is the communications part. Does your company crisis plan have a detailed crisis communications component?

Everyone knows that when communication does not flow well, fear and uncertainty increase. In the absence of information, people look to fill the void with whatever they can find.

• Planning who will be responsible for communicating to employees, customers, investors and the media is vital. And, it's not going to be the person or people responsible for managing the crisis, because they'll be consumed with the crisis and stabilizing operations.
• Understanding ahead of a crisis how those folks who are designated to communicate will get accurate information in a timely manner, and mapping out the specifics of how communication will take place -- including back-up plans -- will ensure that the flow of information to those constituencies most vital to your organization is constant and informative.
• Starting with a brainstorm is the best approach. Pull together a number of folks who can devise potential crises and map out who needs to get information and how it will happen.
• Plan for the worst-case scenario. If your plan relies on electronic communication, create a back-up plan for the potential of all electricity, Internet connections and computers to be inaccessible.
• Write the plan down and make it available to everyone. The plan should be easily accessible -- not on a computer -- and in a location where everyone knows how to find it.
• Finally, practice! A crisis drill will help you identify vulnerabilities in your plan and you can fix them before you have to manage a crisis.