A crisis management framework
What role does future thinking have in a crisis?
In this article, professors Ludo van der Heijden and Peter Nathanial, sum up the available knowledge and lessons about crisis management that all currently facing COVID-19 should be aware of. Especially in the beginning the majority of the team should be dedicated to fighting and containing the crisis they argue, however a few (and the number should grow over time) should also look ahead and identify opportunities to get the company out of the crisis.
From past experience, we know what works, and what doesn’t work, in times of crisis. However, these principles are regularly ignored in the heat of the moment. This is what motivated the writing of this article, the authors feel that crisis is not a time for learning or reinventing what should already be known. Dealing with a crisis requires experienced hands, a combination of facts and intuition, and focusing on how you do things as much as on what you do. Building trust and credibility are key.
Last but not least, they make the point that the way one gets into a crisis is typically not the way one gets out. This is why you need a dedicated team to focus on future thinking next to your crisis management team.
Are you using all of the crisis management principles described?
What role does future thinking currently play in your organization?