---
title: "The Crisis Comms Standard: Free Leadership Guide | Velocity"
description: A short framework for communicating clearly and in the right order when the pressure is highest, so every leader can answer the next question.
image: https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Podcast%20Episodes/Podcast%20Assets%20%28Social%29/Guides/Velocity_AG_The_Crisis_Comms_Standard_Social.png
---

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Free guide · Activating Greatness

# Start at the center of the bull's-eye.

A short framework for leaders who need to communicate clearly and in the right order when the pressure is highest.

- A three-question check on whether your team would wait for you or fill the gap
- The bull's-eye cascade for sequencing announcements under pressure
- Three actions for this week and a quick-reference page you can pin up

## Get the free guide

The Crisis Comms Standard · 8 pages · PDF

Trusted by **800+ organizations** across **25+ industries** since 2009

Rarely trueAlmost always true

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Start at the center of the bull's-eye.

The Crisis Comms Standard

THE BULL'S-EYE CHECK

GROUP A

**1**

**2**

**3**

GROUP B

**4**

**5**

**6**

GROUP C

**7**

## What's inside

### Ten people, ten different stories

Why several people leave the same meeting with different takeaways, and why it's on leaders to fix it.

### The bull's-eye cascade

How to sequence communication from the center outward, compress it under pressure, and keep the top line snackable.

### Would your team wait for you?

Three questions on your bull's-eye, your managers' readiness, and your key message, plus the idea of holding people capable.

### This week

Three concrete actions, a stop-doing habit, and a quick-reference page.

[Get the guide](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/crisis-comms-standard#get-it)

## Results and feedback from Velocity's leadership work

**30% to 8%**employee turnover in one yearBiopharmaceutical company

**+126%**strategic alignment liftBiopharmaceutical company

**95%**retention rate in a construction leadership programVelocity client

> “Now associates understand themselves better, and leaders have new tools to support their teams.”

Chief People and Culture Officer, healthcare products distributor

> “Velocity challenged our team and brought us together in ways that have paid immediate dividends.”

Managing Partner, accounting and advisory firm

## Why messages break down under pressure

Too often, leaders treat it as the employees' job to figure out what a message means.

### Different Takeaways

Several people leave the same meeting with different stories, and that starts the post-meeting meetings.

### Outer Rings First

When a manager finds out at the same time as their team, it immediately erodes trust.

### Always in Emergency Mode

Teams can feel it when they're always operating at emergency level, and that isn't sustainable.

## From message to cascade

In Maskel's words, "Communication in and of itself is not the point." The point is helping the organization reach its desired future state.

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### SEQUENCE

Draw your bull's-eye for each major announcement and equip each ring to answer the next.

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### SIMPLIFY

Make the key message explicit and snackable, and tell people where to find more.

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### COACH

Velocity's leadership coaching and team workshops help leaders communicate with clarity and hold their teams capable, not just accountable.

**In Jeremy Maskel's words:** "You never want somebody farther out on the bull's-eye to know something that the center of it does not."

### Who this is for

- Executives leading through change or crisis
- Communications and HR leaders
- Leaders of large, multi-site organizations
- Managers who relay news to frontline teams

## Communicate clearly when it matters most

Download the guide, then talk with us about preparing your leaders to answer the next question.

[Get the guide](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/crisis-comms-standard#get-it)

**800+**organizations led through change

**25+**industries

**2009**building momentum since

© 2026 Velocity Advisory Group.velocityadvisorygroup.com

[Get the guide](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/crisis-comms-standard#get-it)