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Have You Planned for a Crisis Lately?

By: Loren Wassell | 03/03/2009

Once upon a time, a client asked for help writing a crisis communications plan. We were a little surprised, because we thought this particular client already had a good plan. With simple checklists for preparation and action, the plan documented well-established practices that had served the company for years. Since the plan was written, nearly 10 years ago, it was even used as a model by an industry trade group.

As we got into the project, we found much of the old plan had been gathering dust since it was written. Many of the people who knew the process had moved on; roughly half of the company was newly acquired, completely unaware of procedures that used to be common knowledge.

Things change. The client needed to recover its own lost art, and adapt it for today's business and business conditions. They really did need to do some work to prepare for a crisis. 

Philosophers can debate whether a tree makes a sound if there's no one in the forest to hear it. There's no argument that a plan doesn't exist if people don't know how to implement it. Isn't it better to find out now, rather than when the sky falls?

It used to be thought-provoking to say news cycles are obsolete, and the world moves at Internet speed. Today, even "Internet speed" is the slow lane -- today's world moves at Twitter speed. The recent emergency airliner landing in the Hudson River was photographed and "tweeted" from a passing ferry that would become one of the first rescue boats to arrive. 

Does your firm have a plan to respond effectively to a crisis, moving as fast as today's communications? Here's a quick survey you can use to find out if your preparations are still active. The more times you answer "no," the more you need to take a fresh look at your preparedness.

Posted in Issues and Crisis Management