Something to make you think

Yesterday's tragic death of Suzanne Hart sheds light on the importance of elevator safety.

The Young & Rubicam executive was crushed to death during an elevator mishap as two other passengers watched in horror.

All she was doing was entering an elevator on the way to work - something we all do every day.

The horrifying incident has led me to recall many times in which an elevator I was on suddenly shook or stopped abruptly. I was even stuck in an elevator when I worked at CBS.

In addition to the building safety angle, I really hope Young & Rubicam have grief counselors in place to assist shaken colleagues of Hart. As a WPP company (I used to work for one), Y&R should have ample crisis communication plans in place.

On simply-communicate, I recently published an article on how to communicate the death of a leader or executive inside a company which was just followed up with an insighful blog by veteran crisis communications consultant, Jim Lukaszewski. Given the fact that Hart worked in a leadership position, much of the insight in these articles holds true for her passing.

I can only imagine how sad the holidays will be for her family this year.