Crises Come from Choices
Learning occurs when we recognize opportunities to learn. BP, Toyota, even Johnson & Johnson, haven’t seemed to learn key lessons of crisis management – first, do everything you can through sound management to avoid a crisis. Then, if one occurs anyway, have a plan to deal with it promptly and credibly.
Steve Lasky, the Publisher/Editor in Chief of Security Technology Executive magazine, notes in the June/July issue that “Even the best products in the best-run companies can be susceptible to a crisis. And even though the crisis can be founded on incorrect information, or it can arise from misuse of a product by a consumer, the way that the news is treated can adversely affect the product in both the short and long term unless the crisis is managed properly and effectively from the outset.”
In short, be prepared. Seek to avoid crises, but if one occurs, be ready to deal with it effectively.
Levy makes an even more basic point: “Use a crisis as the opportunity to reset your moral compass. Morality does matter, and yours will show itself under pressure.”
It’s not that hard: Act in terms of right and wrong. Those choices will be apparent when you’re looking to make them.