In our industry, we usually talk about crisis management when a serious incident occurs in the organization and extraordinary leadership and effort are required. But we live in a time where the topic of crisis management surrounds us all and has become part of the daily routine. The pandemic and war in Europe will affect most of us and are a reminder that crisis management must be on the agenda at all times. We do not know the consequences of what we are seeing now, but it is certain that there will be challenges for many,  – both in the short and long term. The costs can be extensive, both direct, indirect, and intangible.

When is it a crisis? The line between what we call an 'undesirable event' and a 'crisis' is difficult to draw precisely, but a crisis is often characterized by:

• Being unique, rare, unforeseen, or poorly managed events that create unusual challenges for the organization.
• Being difficult to handle with pre-produced routines.
• Being able to arise without warning, within a short time, or as a result of an undesirable event not being handled or escalating and causing the company immediate strategic damage.
• This can also occur if latent problems with a high potential for damage to the organization's reputation are exposed.
• It must be managed immediately, and one may have to work over a longer period to minimize the extent of the damage.
• It is disruptive and affects all or large parts of the organization. A crisis overrides geographical, organizational and sectoral boundaries.

Any crisis or serious adverse event that affects a business can potentially have serious consequences. It is therefore essential that the business that is affected manages this effectively, so that the extent of the damage is as small as possible.

The need to develop a crisis plan should therefore be central to all businesses.

The purpose of a crisis plan is to establish guidelines for managing the crisis and how to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders. The crisis management itself is usually divided into three levels:

• Tactical level: Limit damage “here and now”.
• Operational level: Plans, implements, coordinates and keeps track of the measures that are necessary.
• Strategic level: Safeguards the company's long-term interests and limits the negative consequences of the event.

Few people go around expecting a crisis to occur. We don't think that a crisis will hit us, but in the job of crisis management, we simply have to turn up the imagination and imagine all sorts of horror scenarios, different versions of «what is the worst that can happen?», and make a plan to handle it – what we therefore call risk assessment in the management system for the business.

Whether it is due to a pandemic, war, a data breach, environmental pollution or another undesirable event, employees and the environment expect the business to be prepared to handle the situation. In addition to the direct negative consequences of an undesirable event, the business may face equally powerful indirect consequences in the form of negative media attention and loss of reputation. On the other hand, a well-managed crisis can both strengthen management's confidence and the company's position in the market. Crisis management has therefore become a key skill for leaders in today's businesses.

Is your business prepared and does it have the right expertise?

The «cheapest» way to deal with a crisis or serious adverse event is to be prepared by identifying possible risk scenarios, assessing the potential for damage, identifying preventive measures and training the organization to both avoid the situation arising and be able to handle it if it does arise anyway.

Our experience is that all businesses have potential for improvement – large or small. This is a work that is constantly ongoing to ensure that you are as well prepared as possible for an unwanted event. But it also contains periods where we take quantum leaps and where we simply lift the organization to a higher level.

We deliver leadership as a service to companies that want to strengthen their position, for example through a review of the management system, risk and consequence assessment and identification and implementation of risk-reducing measures.

If an undesirable situation has arisen, there is very often a need for competence or capacity that the business does not have internally. This applies both in an immediate situation, but also capacities in the somewhat longer term.

Please feel free to contact us for a chat about which resources are available and what values it can have for your business.     

Contact: Rolf.svendsen@incepto.com /900 32 331