Mitch Cohen in Rick’s Room

Mitch Cohen, founder of Clear Line Crisis, joins Rick to discuss why most organizations are dangerously unprepared for a crisis and how artificial intelligence can fundamentally change the way companies prepare for and respond to high-stakes events. Drawing on more than two decades of communications experience spanning startup technology firms, global mortgage technology companies, and the financial crisis, Cohen argues that crisis communications should begin long before a crisis ever occurs.

Cohen explains that while many organizations technically possess a crisis communications plan, those documents often sit untouched on shared drives, quickly becoming outdated as executives leave, regulations change, and business structures evolve. Instead of living documents, they become little more than forgotten files that offer little practical value when an emergency occurs.

This realization became the inspiration for Clear Line Crisis, a technology platform designed to make professional crisis preparedness available to organizations that cannot afford elite crisis communications firms.

Transcript Highlights

Rick Grant:

Welcome back to Rick’s Room.

My guest today is someone I’ve wanted to sit down with for a long time—Mitch Cohen. Mitch currently leads Clear Line Crisis, and we’ve known each other for at least twenty years, dating back to your days at FNC.

You were there during the company’s startup years, helping build its communications platform from the ground up.

Mitch Cohen:

That’s right. We built the communications function from scratch in a converted retirement home in rural Mississippi. Those were exciting startup days, and in many ways I’ve come full circle.

Rick:

You spent years working in public relations before moving into some of the largest companies in the mortgage technology industry. Now you’ve returned to consulting, but you’ve focused specifically on crisis communications.

Why crisis?

Mitch:

Because I learned crisis communications during the financial crisis.

When the mortgage industry became the center of the global financial meltdown, my clients found themselves in situations where every communication mattered.

The biggest lesson I learned was that preparation determines survival.

Unfortunately, I also discovered that very few organizations are actually prepared.

I’ve worked at agencies, startups, mid-sized companies, and Fortune-level organizations. Almost every one of them had some kind of crisis communications plan, but usually it was sitting forgotten on a shared drive, outdated and disconnected from today’s leadership team or regulatory environment.

A document isn’t the same thing as preparedness. That’s what inspired Clear Line.

I wanted to build a system that helps organizations prepare before the crisis arrives rather than scrambling after it begins. Recent advances in AI made that possible.

With the proper guardrails, writing standards, and crisis communications doctrine, AI can now deliver experienced communications judgment at a scale that wasn’t previously possible.

Rick:

That’s a fascinating shift. Most people think about hiring a crisis communications firm after something goes wrong. You’re saying organizations should prepare long before they ever experience a crisis.

Mitch:

Exactly. Preparation is the overlooked side of crisis communications.

Clear Line currently includes more than 130 crisis scenarios covering everything from cybersecurity breaches and executive misconduct to natural disasters, vendor failures, and operational disruptions.

Organizations answer structured questions about their business, leadership, and risk exposure.

The platform then creates customized, board-ready crisis playbooks for the situations they’re most likely to face.

But preparation doesn’t stop there. You have to practice.

The platform includes spokesperson training that simulates media interviews, asks increasingly difficult questions, and evaluates how effectively someone communicates key messages.

That repetition builds confidence before the real pressure arrives.

When a crisis actually occurs, the platform shifts into response mode, updates the playbook using the facts on the ground, and guides organizations through the critical first hours and days.

It also manages regulatory reporting requirements, stakeholder communications and documentation throughout the process.

Rick:

One thing I found especially interesting is that the platform becomes a complete record of the communications process.

Mitch:

That’s right. Every revision, approval, and decision is documented and timestamped.

If regulators later ask how decisions were made or who approved specific communications, the organization has a complete audit trail.

That can become incredibly valuable during investigations or litigation.

Rick:

Let’s shift gears for a moment. When we first met, you were writing remarkable short stories. Does that creative side still exist?

Mitch:

Absolutely. Once you’re a writer, you’re always a writer. Over the past year and a half, my creativity has been focused on building Clear Line. But I still draw, paint, play guitar and love music.

Maybe it’s time I started writing fiction again.

Rick:

I hope you do.

Finally, where can people learn more about Clear Line?

Mitch:

Visit ClearLineCrisis.com.

The platform was designed specifically for organizations that have real reputation risk but can’t justify the cost of retaining a large crisis communications firm.

Whether you’re a single organization, a multi-company enterprise, or a holding company managing multiple subsidiaries, Clear Line helps you prepare before a crisis happens.

I’d love to hear from anyone watching.

Rick:

Mitch Cohen, thank you for joining me.

Let’s not wait another twenty years before we do this again.

Mitch:

I’d like that.

And maybe next time I’ll come back as the fiction writer.

Rick:

I’ll look forward to reading that first story.

Thanks for watching Rick’s Room.