What to do when your CEO melts down: think it can't happen to you? Think again--and be prepared.

Lord John Browne, the man credited with single-handedly taking British Petroleum (BP) from a second-tier oil company to the very top of the industry, was forced to resign in May after revelations involving his personal life came to light--a scandal with only minor ties to his performance as CEO. His resignation became a major problem for BP, largely because Browne, who had been with BP for 41 years, was so visibly and personally identified with the company. In the U.K., when it came to identifying the CEO with the company, Browne and BP were up there with Richard Branson and Virgin Airlines.

This isn't the first time that a CEO has dragged a company down after his own image takes a major fall. Other examples include:

* The World Bank, when President Paul Wolfowitz resigned 30 June following accusations that he had inappropriately favored his companion, another World Bank employee, with pay raises and promotions.

* Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, who was convicted of using company money to fund his extravagant personal expenses, including a lavish party thrown in Sardinia for his wife's 40th birthday.

* The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, after it came out that CEO and founder Jesse Jackson had used the charity's funds to support a senior executive who was also his mistress, including US$10,000 a month in child support.

There are other ways that the meltdown of a public figure's image can damage an organization. Many charities, for instance, tie themselves closely to celebrity spokespeople. Having a celebrity spokesperson can work very well, but if that person's image becomes tarnished--due to his or her inappropriate public actions or comments--the charity's image suffers too. Imagine, for instance, that your charity had Mel Gibson as its spokesman back in the summer of 2006.

Scandals can happen to any organization, though of course the damage is greater for companies that are already in the public eye. According to a 2004 study of 150 Fortune 1000 CEOs conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide for Burson-Marsteller, it can take nearly three years before a crisis--anything from an inappropriate act by a high-ranking executive to product tampering--begins to fade in stakeholders' minds, and an average of four years for the corporation's reputation to recover.

From a PR and business communication perspective, there are, however, a number of useful strategies for repolishing corporate reputations.

1 Long before there is ever a whiff of a scandal, the senior PR officer should create a crisis plan for such a situation. This plan should be kept locked away; current CEOs will not look favorably on contingency plans to be implemented should they, like Browne or Kozlowski, have a meltdown in their personal life. Still, it's vital to know in advance what you would do.

2 When a scandal of this nature does happen, the first thing is to remove the CEO. That's a board of directors' function, and in most cases boards act quickly to protect shareholders from the fallout.

3 Once the CEO is gone and the board has taken control (if only by replacing the CEO with someone with a more stellar reputation), the next step may be for the new leader to make a full and public apology, distancing the company from the former CEO. In these instances, PR people should almost never "front" for the company. If possible, position the company as the first "victim" of the outgoing CEO's actions. In today's world, apologies are essential, but they won't carry much weight. Yet critics inside and outside the media will pounce on the absence of a sincere and specific apology.

4 Demonstrate corporate responsibility and good corporate citizenship. This can most easily be accomplished by making a sizable donation to a major charity--perhaps one that is in some way tied to the issue at hand--in exchange for that charity's very public endorsement of the company's good citizenship.

5 Implement a tell-all strategy-hold nothing back. Anything that's withheld will make the company look both guilty and unrepentant when it becomes public (and in this world of 24/7 news and endless blogs, it will become public). Full disclosure on the company's web site, starting with a candid webcast by the new CEO (or by a high-ranking executive who is authorized to speak for the company), along with daily updates, can go a long way toward both limiting damage and squelching rumors before they can gain currency.

6 If finances are involved, announce an independent audit and pledge that all of the findings will be released online. Be sure to follow up on that pledge.

7 If corporate funds were misused, as was the case with Tyco, publicly seek restitution, then publicly cooperate with prosecutors if this misuse is potentially criminal in nature. Being defensive will only make matters worse.

As the Wirthlin Worldwide survey indicated, a corporate image crisis takes nearly three years to fade, while corporate image "recovery" takes more than four years. The survey also found that it takes an additional five years before the company can hope to move its image and reputation from "good" to "great." By their reckoning, full recovery will take the better part of a decade, so be prepared to dig in for the long haul.

These issues do not go away easily, but crisis issues can be managed--even CEO scandals. With effective management, the damage these crises cause can be mitigated and the recovery time shortened.

Ned Barnett, APR, has 35 years of experience in public relations and is the founder of Barnett Marketing Communications, with offices in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlanta; and St. George, Utah.