Southwest Airlines is a brand in crisis.

The corporation was an anomaly: an airline known for efficiency and entertainment but this month, they became known for fuselage cracks and inadequate safety inspections.

The low-cost airline's tailspin began with the recent announcement of a $10.2 million fine from the Federal Aviation Administration based on 2007 maintenance records. The Dallas-based company is also scheduled for a congressional hearing on April 3 to discuss maintenance practices while the stock price has dropped 10 percent since the news broke earlier this month.

When a scandal breaks, the corporate crisis team springs into action crafting a series of simple sentences to be repeated ad nauseum by the executive chosen for sacrifice on the media altar. The goal is to avoid liability and defuse a public relations firestorm. The problem is that a well-crafted media response often just adds to the noise and destroys the underpinnings of the brand you've worked so hard to establish. Spin is not authentic. A public relations "statement" is not authentic. A response that deviates from your brand is not authentic. And without authenticity, your crisis management strategy is not likely to succeed.

If you're looking for a blueprint in how to authentically respond to criticism or a crisis, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama offered a three-step plan in his recent speech on race in America. In what has been seen as the signature moment of his campaign, Obama properly and authentically answered the media outcry over comments from his former pastor Jeremiah Wright.

We talked to June Blocklin of Gilbert and Company, advertising agency consultants, about the difficulties to overcome when searching for a new brand agency and how CEOs can sometimes, mistakenly, value chemistry over an idea that could transform the earning power of their brand.

Where are the places that most companies stumble when searching for an agency to partner on a brand?

The right short list is a critical starting point - and the place where companies often miss. There are thousands of alternatives available and always more than one agency that can fit the bill.

The key in getting to the right short list is knowing how well the different agencies fit the criteria you determine are important. You want to find, say, five agencies that not only deliver the services and have the relevant experience that you want, but are hungry, for whatever reason. That's an indication that they will step up and do a good job.

Importantly, that list should not always be about who's "the hottest." A fabulous campaign done for somebody else doesn't necessarily mean they'll do the same for you. You want to make sure you are talking to companies who want you as much as you want them.

In part two, we discuss how a CEO can work with a consultant to establish a cultural change in their organization.

Can CEOs inadvertently be standing in the way of an organization's growth?

I sometimes find leaders choosing to stand above the organization and feel that they're going to change it without it somehow profoundly changing them in the process. Effective change can only happen when leaders grow personally. The CEO has to ask themselves: "Am I prepared for some kind of change in me?" Because change in their organization starts in their office.

I remember a client saying to me once, "Chris, I realize that every instinct I have for this business is no longer relevant, yet they are the only instincts I have."

They had got to a very critical place in their own learning, the place of "I don't know." But then he moved forward, and made some difficult and risky choices, which may well not have worked. Without this almost mystical combination of humility and courageous vision in a leader, change is very hard to foster. I have said, "As grows the leader, so goes the change process." It seems that this is most often the case.

The Halo Group talked to consultant Chris Houston of The Change Alliance about when it is time to bring in a change agent and how a CEO can effectively lead an organization in a new direction.

How does the need for a change agent arise within an organization?

A leader always has two fundamental challenges. The first is to run the organization they have today; they have a responsibility to serve and deliver products to their current customers. The second is to change their model, so that tomorrow's performance is in some way different, better, or sustainable. And the difficulty is that both of these goals need to be achieved simultaneously. Often, the management process pays particular attention to one task or the other, usually today's performance - best reflected in the numbers that show the current economic strength of a corporation. But the results today are the outcome of previous decisions, so today's change agenda is intended to produce results for tomorrow.

The quarterly earnings cycle forces a transactional response. CEOs feel that they have to do something today - preferably Now! - which is why it is sometimes helpful to have an outside opinion and perspective, one not caught up in the issues of producing today's output. A change agent has an eye on the horizon as opposed to the immediate crisis. It's that ability to simply think beyond the immediate issues of today, but do so fully cognizant of the present realities.

Customers today are armed with the technology to look beneath a brand's attractive wrapping. They want to know about the company that made the product, and whether it shares the same core beliefs and values. And that's where a lot of brands get into trouble.

Companies spend so much time focusing on the brand concept that they forget to step back and consider its purpose. You want to make money for your business, employees, and shareholders. But how can you translate fiscal health into a purposeful brand that connects with customers? Start at your core. And then build your company around it.