‘Grace follows grace’: Crisis communications wisdom from General Mills’ Jano Cabrera

Plunging into a crisis, whether reputational or widespread like a pandemic, is always scary. They push us outside our comfort zones and into a frightening new realm.

But if we just keep pushing past the fear, said Jano Cabrera, chief communications officer at General Mills, we find ourselves in the areas that lead us to new learnings and growth.

“As a professional, steering that ship in that direction is so much better for you,” Cabrera said during his keynote session, “Emerging from Emergency: Navigating Social Brand Crises,” at Ragan and PR Daily’s Social Media Conference.

Cabrera knows a bit about crises, having traveled to Iraq as a democratic advisor and working in the White House, in addition to stints with huge brands like McDonald’s and his current role at General Mills.

In his fireside chat, Cabrera discussed what’s changed in the world of crisis communications and social media, as well as what will never change.

What remains the same

Our world is fractured, Cabrera said. The effects of the pandemic and unrest over racist policing split our world wide open and changed life as we knew it, from what we can buy to how we shop to how we interact with one another to how we consume media. Everything has changed, and much of it will likely never change back.