Don’t be fooled. Just because people are picketing by your door does not necessarily mean that you are at fault. Before taking any action, you need to take stock of the situation, understand the problem and who is actually at fault.
Don’t be swayed by your boss or client reassuring you that everything was done above board. People often do not think in such terms. Most of the time they are displeased with completely legal and valid actions that they view as being unethical. A classic example is the myriad of protests against low wages. More often than not the wages in question are legal and based on contracts that were signed voluntarily by the employees. However, these facts do not stop people from being displeased with the wages and rising up against them. Nothing can be done about that.

At the risk of sounding cynical, it is important to note that sometimes people are unware of the full picture and can be swayed by organizers that are winding them up.
Do you have proof of that? If so, then you can take up an offensive stance, however it is important to note that this is a very risky move. Paradoxically the picket or protest that is damaging you is safeguarding the organizers. In a conflict between a group of people and an organization, the wider public usually sympathizes with the people, even in situations where they might be in the wrong.
One way or the other, information on who exactly is behind the protest is crucial as it helps you to piece the whole situation together and predict how it might progress.

Don’t be naive, whatever you do and however you react, you have lost the first round. However, as mentioned before, a picket is just a part of larger and longer lasting crisis. You need to constantly look for possibilities to localize the problem. What, if anything, can you do, in order to ensure that the least amount of people see and know about it? What can you do in order to make sure that the initial protest is not followed up by a second and a third one?

An angry and emotional picket or protest is a juicy scoop for the media. There is the emotional charge of the angry and hurt people, the headline worthy slogans on the signs and a very clear and concrete villain. Is it possible to transfer all of this into a calm room and sit down by the negotiating table, to offer constructive ways out of the whole debacle?

There are several major strategies that can be taken, however I should be noted that not a single one of them can give you a full 100% victory while also keeping your reputation intact. Thus it is paramount to try and guess the actions of your opposition and the possible outcomes of it i.e. what course of action can help you ride the crisis out with the least amount of losses. Why the pessimism? Because your opposition is strong and clever enough to organize a picket line and also to get the media involved.

• If you are to blame: Apologize and promise to do better in the future. Make sure that this does not happen again.
• If you are not to blame: Deny the charges and show compassion for what has happened.
• You know of a third party that is to blame: You can try and appeal to said third party.

However, reality is rarely as simple and cut and dry as this. Most often than not you will have to use a synthesis of several strategies.

• Communicate and work with the media. Try and explain the situation as best as possible. In an ideal scenario they would see it your way and would be reluctant to cover the picket, at the very least perhaps they become sympathetic to your situation and be less critical in the way they cover the whole debacle.
• Try and invite the protesters for discussions indoors. This helps in diffusing some of the excess emotional charge in the whole situation. If your calls are rejected, you are given an argument that the people across the aisle don’t actually want to find a solution to the problem, but are rather using this to garner leverage. You shouldn’t voice this critique publically, but can mention this in your communication with the media.
• Your business is regulated by a number of official institutions and regulators. Make sure to inform them of the situation personally, so that they would not hear about the ordeal from the media. The last thing you want on your hands is an official inquiry or worse yet a legal investigation.
• Make it your top priority to make sure the protest does not happen again or, if unavoidable, that that the second one would happen after as log of a period as possible.

• Facts and arguments are your weapons of choice. Use them to best counter the charges levied against you and if the situation is right can even be used to counter-attack.
• Laws, legal regulations and conclusions made from official inquires can become extremely handy if they support your position.

• People are angry so do not try to reason with them. Your communication needs to be empathic and show sympathy with their situation. However, do not get carried away, if you are innocent in the matter, do not accept the blame.
• Your main goal is to transfer the conflict from the emotional plane into a constructive dialogue. The less emotions involved the easier it is for you to control the situation or at least noticeably influence the conflict.

• Even if you are in the right, you can always make promises to change something in the future. Pick something that would not cost too much, but would show your inclination towards compromises. A show of good will, some sort of concession that makes the people feel heard can ease tensions even with the most vicious of protesters.
• Your boss or client can be firm in not wanting to spend an extra dime if he or she feels being extorted and in the right. That is no doubt true, however, you should note that reputation is also a valuable resource that costs. Together you should try and evaluate how X amount of money spent on some sort of concession stacks up against another picket, or two, or three.

• No protest or picket goes without consequences and is always remembered for some time. You need to step up your positive communication in order to compensate the losses. Ideally you should try and communicate that you have reached an agreement with the protesters and the positive changes that will come of it as well as your willingness to become better (even if this is just a formality. After all, you didn’t do anything wrong in the first place, right?).

The key mistake company heads usually do when they see a picket line forming by their door is gearing up for war. An aggressive strategy can work only if the media completely ignores the protest, thus not allowing for it to take flight or the people on the picket line are easily dissuaded and lack persistence to push on through towards their goals.
Even if there is someone dishonest pulling the strings of the people in arms for their own gains, do not try to pick a fight with them while the picket is in full swing. They have already won that day, you have your hands full with the protest at hand, not with whoever organized it. You can fight them another day and with different means.