Have you ever bought or sold a share of stock? If so, then you understand that there is always a winner and a loser in the markets. Someone will make money by buying or selling shares and someone will lose money (or the potential to make more money). It’s always an inverse relationship.

This same relationship can occur in public relations.

A perfect example of this came across my desk over the weekend. As I was catching up on past articles in the Times (London), I read about an oil painting that was used for years as a dart board. It turns out that this was actually an Old Masters painting from the 17th century. As I read on, I learned that it had hung in a center for delinquent youths. When the building was sold in the 1980s, it was removed and put into storage.

At this point in the story, the loser became obvious…it was the local council that managed the center.

As the article continued, I learned that painting underwent restoration and was then put into storage until an art researcher found it and discovered that it was one of the most important works depicting the house that Rubens (a famous Flemish master) lived in. It is now considered the earliest depiction of that famous building and is going on display at the National Gallery.

Clearly, the researcher, Anne Cowe, and the National Gallery are the winners in this article. Without their intervention, this painting may have been neglected for another century. They are heroes in the eyes of the media, and more importantly, the readers.

So why do we care?

At some point in your career, your company will be on the losing side of PR. When, not if, this happens you will need to know how to respond accordingly. Sure, the local council neglected a painting…but what the article failed to mention was how many young people the center helped over the years.

I’ve put together a list of strategies below to help you manage and overcome negative publicity:

Be Transparent
Speak openly about any issues your company is facing. Being the first to the table to discuss any problems will help you maintain control of the story within the media.

When You’re Wrong, Just Apologize
When your company does something wrong, even when it’s unintentional (like the local council in this article) just apologize. This is one of the easiest ways to win back consumer trust and loyalty.

Take Immediate Action
When something goes wrong, take immediate action to fix it. Doing this will demonstrate to the media and to the public your commitment to actively take measures to correct a mistake.

Going back to the example in the Times article, one strategy that the local council could use to better its image, is to setup an outreach program that targets art history students and provides them with internship opportunities to research its collection of 5,000 paintings. This not only reaches young people, but it also shows that the local council is sincere about fixing this problem of neglect.

Most Importantly, Don’t Do Nothing

This may seem to be common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many companies fail to respond to negative publicity. By doing nothing, a company can only hope for the worst.