As a Professor teaching business administration, and living a prepared lifestyle on my sailboat, I have seen many instances where crisis management comes in to play. The average Prepper would do well to follow business lessons in crisis management. Whether it's your business having to deal with new legislation, or a family dealing with an approaching forest fire, the methodologies for effectively and successfully managing the crisis are the same.
David Crawford
Crisis management can refer to the formal and systematic policies and procedures put in place to respond to specific crisis situations in a business, or more generally to the ways in which managers and entrepreneurs respond to crisis situations. In either case, effective crisis management is crucial for managers, who must respond quickly by developing and implementing response strategies, delegating and supervising a range of individual tasks and managing the effects of the crisis.
Crisis Situations
Small businesses can face a wide range of crisis situations in which the very survival of the business can be at stake. An unexpected and serious illness in the management team can instantly leave vital tasks undone, for example. A lost or damaged shipment can devastate cash flow and destroy relationships with customers. A natural disaster can wipe out office buildings or sales outlets in minutes. Whatever the case, responding in a calm, rational and strategic manner is essential to steering a business clear of danger.
1. Identify Challenges and Solutions
Any effective crisis management program must first accurately identify the challenges the crisis presents and the potential ways to overcome them. Focus on causes rather than symptoms when identifying problems. If time allows, seek input from a range of stakeholders to come up with several potential solutions to the problems you have identified. Compare each potential solution in terms of its cost, time requirements and its likelihood of success, then select one or more to put in place.
2. Implement Solutions
Put your chosen solutions into action. In this stage, managers gather the crisis management team together, delegate tasks as needed and determine the way forward. If your solution to a fire destroying an office building is to get everyone set up to work at home, for example, the second stage might involve working directly with each employee to get them remotely logged in to company servers and communicating with their teams. If your solution to the unexpected passing of an executive is to hire a temporary replacement, the second stage might involve contacting board members and asking them to recommend suitable candidates.
3. Review Results
Crisis response does not end after implementing solutions to threatening challenges. After a crisis situation has been dealt with, review the entire experience and evaluate your response. Identify exactly what led to the crisis, focusing especially on elements that were in your control. Evaluate the effectiveness of your response strategy and implementation. If your solutions were unplanned, consider tweaking and formalizing them for quick reference in future situations. Take this time to recognize any star performers who pulled extra weight in responding to the crisis and do something to let everyone involved know that you appreciate their efforts.
John Anderson here, seasoned prepper and sailboat enthusiast. I have to say, David, that your article resonates with me on multiple levels. As someone who’s had to 'weather many storms', literally and figuratively, in the past decade, I see the value in applying these crisis management principles not just in business, but also in personal survival scenarios.
Your first point about identifying challenges and solutions particularly stands out. I’d like to emphasize the importance of not just identifying the challenges, but also anticipating them. As a prepper, our whole philosophy revolves around expecting and preparing for the worst. We don't simply react to the crisis; we proactively prepare for it. This anticipation can be a valuable additional step in the crisis management process.
Implementing solutions, as you rightly pointed out, requires a well-coordinated team. In a survival scenario, this would mean ensuring every member of your family or survival group knows their role and responsibilities. In our case, for instance, every member of my family has specific tasks on our sailboat in case we need to bug out.
As for reviewing results, this is where the true learning happens. In the prepper world, we conduct drills and simulations to test our plans, then tweak as necessary. It’s this constant evaluation and learning that makes us better prepared for any crisis.
I'd also like to add that it's essential to keep your equipment in check and ready at all times. In my case, that’s keeping our 40-foot sailboat well-maintained and equipped with solar panels for energy, a desalination system for water, and plenty of storage for supplies.
In conclusion, I believe your crisis management stages are a valuable blueprint for any prepper out there. It’s all about being prepared, implementing your plan, and learning from your experiences. After all, as we say in the sailing world, it’s not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how to sail in the storm. Thanks for a great read, David.
Jessica Sinclair: As someone who has always been interested in self-sufficiency and preparedness, I found this article on crisis management extremely relevant and insightful. As a boater with a liveaboard-capable sailboat, which I consider my bug-out plan, I've often had to deal with unpredictable situations, much like the unexpected crises you've described.
One thing that I've learned from my prepping journey and the various natural disasters I've witnessed is the importance of adaptability in crisis management. You've mentioned the necessity of identifying challenges and implementing solutions, which I couldn't agree more with. However, I've found that these solutions often have to evolve in real-time as the situation unfolds. Much like adjusting the sails to suit the wind conditions, dealing with crises requires a dynamic approach.
In addition to what you've outlined, I also believe in the crucial role of self-care during crises. It's easy to overlook personal well-being in the face of disaster, but without maintaining our physical and mental health, our crisis management efforts can be severely hampered.
Your point about reviewing results and acknowledging those who've gone above and beyond is excellent. In my experience, this not only leads to learning and improvement but also helps build resilience and camaraderie within the team, which can be invaluable during future crises.
Thank you for this well-articulated piece. I believe it would be beneficial for you to delve deeper into the role of adaptability and self-care in crisis management in future articles. It could provide valuable insights for both the business community and survivalists like me.
