James Lukaszewski

James (Jim) E. Lukaszewski is America’s Crisis Guru®. He has helped troubled leaders in organizations large and small. Lukaszewski is seen, heard, and read annually by thousands of people through his various publications, newsletters, and webinars, as he engages a wide variety of local, statewide, national, and international organizations and associations. His goal is often to help managers build, rebuild or reestablish trust in adversely affected organizations, cultures and communities.

From the C-suite to entry-level professionals, Jim is known for his sensible, constructive, and principled perspectives on corporate communications and serious institutional issues. His highly focused and actionable approaches to reducing the contention and conflict of crises make Jim’s ideas, strategies, and concepts for action permanent resources for those who hear him and work with him.

He believes that all questionable, inappropriate, unethical, immoral, predatory, improper, victim-producing, and criminal behaviors are intentional. All ethical, moral, compassionate, decent, civil, and lawful behaviors are also intentional. The choice is clear and always yours.

He believes and teaches that a workplace with integrity, civility, and decency is a safer, more ethical, and more desirable place to work.

Powerful Experience Since 1974, he has used his knowledge in real time to guide the recovery of over 300 companies, domestic and international, through over 400 victim producing events. Lukaszewski believes that while every organization experiences a variety of difficulties and challenges as they operate, those who suffer serious adverse circumstances do so, all too often, as a result of their intentional decisions, acts, and omissions. Jim has been a career long student of the pathology of management and leadership misbehavior.

Powerful Speaker Lukaszewski’s diverse audiences include business groups, state and federal government agencies at all levels, U.S. military services, intelligence agencies, law enforcement, chemical industries, trade and professional associations, large businesses, extractive industries, transportation, healthcare and insurance groups, academia and more. He has worked in every standard industrial classification (SIC) on leadership and management problems. Over the years, he has had clients, taught or lectured in all 50 states, the Caribbean, much of Canada, plus Central and South America.

Trusted Advisor Lukaszewski is known for taking a business approach rather than traditional PR strategies by teaching clients to take highly focused, ethically appropriate action. He has helped leaders in organizations large and small in every standard industrial classifications (SIC), for-profits, non-profits, government, military, private and public organizations. He is often retained by senior management to directly intervene and manage the resolution of corporate problems and bad news while providing personal coaching and executive recovery advice for executives in trouble or facing career-defining problems and succession or departure issues. He is a coach to many CEOs, some of his clients refer to him as their “Yoda,” or Crisis Guru.

Inspiring Teacher Lukaszewski has the extraordinary ability to coach leaders at what is often the low point in their careers; to build staff support and service to senior executives, especially in troubled times; Lukaszewski applies a career-long focus on ethical practices and the constructive interaction with critics, those who are agitated and contentious, and those with grievances. His goal is to help leaders build, rebuild, or reestablish trust in adversely affected organizations and cultures. He understands the need for rebuilding decency, civility, and integrity into organizational leadership.

Important Author Lukaszewski has written 14 books and published hundreds of articles and monographs. The Decency Code: The Leader’s Path to Building Integrity and Trust was published by McGraw-Hill in 2020 and co-authored by Steve Harrison. Lukaszewski on Crisis Communication, What Your CEO Needs to Know about Reputation Risk and Crisis Management (Rothstein Publishing, 2013) was named one of the 30 Best New Business Books of 2013 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. His book, Why Should the Boss Listen to You? The Seven Disciplines of a Trusted Strategic Advisor (Jossey-Bass, 2008) is for everyone who advises. It’s about gaining influence and becoming a trusted strategic advisor.

Recognized Authority Throughout his career, beginning in 1974, Lukaszewski’s skills, knowledge, ability and professional leadership have been recognized continuously. An accredited member and fellow of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), he served for 22 years on the PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS) and is now its first Emeritus member.

For 20 years, he was an adjunct associate professor of business management and communications in the Marketing and Management Institute of the New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and a guest lecturer at Columbia University. He is the recipient of both Ball State University’s National Public Relations Achievement Award and the Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service to PRSA. He is also recognized by the Public Affairs, Government and Military Section of PRSA with the Lloyd B. Dennis Award. He is recognized by PR News and Trust Across America with both organizations’ respective Lifetime Achievement Awards. He has also been inducted into the Ball State University Public Relations Hall of Fame. His writings on crisis management, being a trusted strategic advisor and leadership recovery are so extensive that wherever you study Public Relations on the planet, you will likely see, hear, or view some of Lukaszewski’s ideas.

Lukaszewski received his Bachelor of Arts in 1974 from Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. He is a former deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Economic Development and was the assistant press secretary to former Minnesota Governor Wendell Anderson. He founded Minnesota-based Media Information Systems Corporation in 1978. Prior to founding The New York-based Lukaszewski Group Inc. in 1989, he was senior vice president and director of executive communication programs for Georgeson & Company and partner with Chester Burger Company, both in New York City. In 2011, his wife and business partner, Barbara, retired and the two returned to Minnesota. He continues as president of The Lukaszewski Group. Jim is an avid audio book listener, writer and continues to serve as pro bono counsel for many non-profit organizations, including Metropolitan State University.

In 2017, he was named Founding Chair of Metropolitan State University College of Management’s MBA Community Advisory Committee. The story of his career appears in, “Living Legends of American Public Relations,” (2008) Grand Valley State University and his name was listed in Corporate Legal Times as one of “28 Experts to Call When All Hell Breaks Loose.” PR Week has listed Lukaszewski as one of the 22 “crunch-time counselors who should be on speed dial in a crisis.”