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Over the last 30 years in the world of business, I have seen years of progress made by brands getting completely erased by one moment of crisis. Having worked with the top brands, here are the big ah-ha’s on crisis management and crisis communication.

1. Accept the inevitable. The biggest certainty of life is uncertainty.
2. Be prepared. We cannot sit in a crisis and plan our way out.

To be prepared, there are three things to follow:

1. We must brainstorm on everything that could possibly go wrong. The more comprehensive the list, the lesser the chance of being caught off guard and getting surprised.
2. Next, we must estimate the probability of that happening to every item on the list and the magnitude of impact for each. This picture will give us a clear understanding of what to expect and plan for.
3. Finally, we should get into the next phase of preparation, which is prevention. Part of crisis can be prevented by building consistency lists. There are two areas of the list:
   1. What cannot happen anywhere in the organization. Anywhere is the key here. As we start going down the organization, there is a possibility that key performance indicators at the shop level may be in conflict with what we must not do. It is important to not have conflict, since conflict leads people to the path of dollars, which often opens the door to crisis.
   2. Next, we make a list of what must happen every time, consistently. This culture should become non-negotiable for a brand.

In case of a crisis, every second is gold. Being prepared gives us a head start. The speed with which the information reaches the right people is very important. Then it is key that the wrong people should not say anything, and the right people should not say anything more than necessary.

We cannot talk our way out of a crisis. Having worked with brands of all sizes, I have noticed that it is not the crisis, but what we do and say after, that defines us.

I hope your business never faces a crisis. But accepting the possibility of crisis, preparation for a crisis, and having a plan is important as that is the path you can pre-create to get out of crisis.

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