There is no shortage of good advice available about how to prepare for a crisis. Checklists and plans can be consulted as well as analysis by leading players who are ready to comment on the latest crisis – what should have happened, what went wrong etc. But there are a number of real implications that they do not talk about.
There are a number of difficult truths some of which are easier to deal with than others. The reason they are rarely talked about is that there is less that can be done about them after the event.
Planning remains key but being aware of these challenges will help you really prepare for what could happen in the event of a crisis.
- Your career is over – it is highly likely that the senior executives in an organisation being battered by a crisis will leave, be shifted or never enjoy the same level of trust again. Reputations are personal as well as corporate. Whilst the person at the very top may lose their job first, organisations can be unforgiving so all those associated are at risk. A career may be rebuilt but that takes time and effort.
- It is not just about reputations – crises are often considered in terms of reputation but that is only the start of the battle. The ramifications will be costly and time consuming. Dealing with a crisis is often considered the preserve of communications and this is part of the reason why reputation is stressed. But a crisis is also about political intervention, regulatory consequences and legal challenges. Only by understanding the potential outcomes can you plan for the risk and decide on how best to prepare. Too often, crisis plans are only about prevention. They should also consider the consequences.
- You will be unable to do anything else – the crisis will take over you life. All other business decisions and operations of the organisation will take second place and may even suffer as a result. There are also bound to be an impact on home life as well – there will be no work-life balance during and following a crisis. The personal stress is considerable and should not be underestimated.
- You will need your advisers – instead of treating advisers as a necessary evil, effective crisis management is all about recognising the strength of the teams around you and actually listening to them. It means not having favourites amongst the teams or always deferring to one set of advisers over another. This all points to having a strong and effective network around you in advance.
- You do not get to decide when the crisis is over – and it is not just the minute-by-minute social media campaign that will take place but the political comment that comes in the days afterwards, the legal challenges that can take months and the regulatory investigations that can take years. The media may also come back to the crisis for an update on what is happening. And you will need serious help should the organisation face another crisis…. The first crisis will always be mentioned whether the media is looking at you favourably or unfavourably. For some organisations the name of the crisis might as well form part of their brand name!
A 24-hour news and social media that is eager for new content makes all organisations fair game. A crisis isn’t just about what has happened and what has gone wrong but about how it is handled in the immediate aftermath and in the future as well.
The uncomfortable truths need to be considered as well.