2014 was crisis-riddled and unfortunately our world in 2015 seems poised to face more threats, more risks and more crises. From cyber security threats, environmental disasters, safety failures, extreme climate events and management mistakes, misbehaviours or denials, businesses face a complex and interconnected globalised world that increases systematic risks and their consequences.
Despite the best efforts to prevent them, crises do happen. The Scout Motto “Be Prepared” is no where more applicable than to crises:
- Be Prepared in Mind by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order, and also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.
- Be Prepared in Body by making yourself strong and active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it.
To build crisis readiness and resilience in your organisation, follow a simple five-step process:
- Assess risks and prepare for the unexpected
- Have a plan
- Train your teams
- Practice your plan – and do it regularly
- Integrate lessons learned
In a crisis, following a few rules of sound crisis management can help your organisation avert a reputation train wreck.
As Churchill famously said ”Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”, so there is no excuse to build or strengthen your crisis readiness now.
Some suggested good listening and reading to get the year off to a good start:
Crisis Management – Tales from the Front Lines, Caroline Sapriel & Dirk Lenaerts
The Butterfly Defect: How Globalization Creates Systemic Risks and What to Do about It, Ian Goldin
