Crisis Planning: Increasing Effectiveness, Decreasing Discomfort

Abstract

Although the percentage of businesses involved in crisis planning increased after September 11, 2001, it is still alarmingly low.  Some managers believe crisis planning unnecessary, while others become overwhelmed when attempting to plan for all potential crises.  Even those managers who develop plans may find them overly-simplistic or ineffective when crises occur.  This work discusses the importance of crisis planning and presents a five-step process to simplify planning efforts while increasing their effectiveness.  Effective crisis preparedness can be achieved by forming a crisis team, analyzing vulnerabilities, creating strategies, working the plans, and assessing plan performance.