There must be an organized plan to contain the damage caused by the unhealthy situation. This may be in customer relationships, public trust, or confidence in the product. Basic questions of who, what, when, where, and how give the planner a good framework to build a workable response to crisis conditions. Let’s go through the specifics.
- Who Should Be Involved. The most senior person in the company should be directly involved in the situation. If it is a response to a crisis, then the senior person should be highly visible. If it is business planning deviations, the president should be leading the planning revision. When natural disasters happen the state governor is always involved and visible to the public. The senior official needs to be supported by a crisis management team. This designated team may or may not be the executive leadership team. The composition depends on the nature of the situation. There must be problem experts on hand to give expert witness and take charge of the technical content of the problem.
- What Should Be Managed. The answer is simple: perceptions.
- When You Should Act. One thought comes to mind. You should immediately respond. The senior company person should be on the scene as soon as possible. The CEO of Exxon sat in his office for three weeks after the accident in Alaska. Congress noted this response and it was not a good impression.
- Where Management Is Located in a Contingency Situation. Get as close to the incident as possible. If a plane crashed in Chicago, then go to the location and direct contingency operations from that city. Work from a mobile facility at the scene so you are readily available.
- How to Respond. Act in a professional manner at all times.