THE REAR VIEW MIRROR: Please. Make crisis planning a priority for Q4 2023
By David Josephs
Earlier this year, I took out a subscription to Harvard Business Review. Both the online and print version (full disclosure, I’m a bit old-fashioned, and still prefer print to digital). As an aside, I urge each and every one of you who might read this column to subscribe to something today, because if we don’t support our traditional media with money, they will eventually cease to exist.
One of my reasons for choosing Harvard Business Review is that in this age of clickbait journalism, it takes time to explore issues in depth—which, I very much enjoy. In the July-August edition, there was a profoundly inspiring article written by Roman Rodomansky, co-founder of the six-year-old software development company, Ralabs.
Surviving War
Ralabs is based in Lviv, Ukraine. Roman writes about how he led his start-up “through a year of war”. The key point for me was his decision along with his co-founder, Andrew Yasynyshyn, to start working on a business continuity plan as the threat of the Russian invasion grew. They envisaged, and then created, multiple scenario plans.
As Roman concludes, “Despite all the challenges and heartache wrought by the war, the country continues to function, businesses continue to grow, and people continue to be inspiring.”
Yet examples of such sensible crisis planning seem to be the exception rather than the rule, which is totally bizarre. Indeed, I witnessed a similar company’s almost complete refusal to accept this encouragement to prepare for what might happen at exactly the same time Ralabs was doing the right thing early on.
Crisis situations are growing
War is perhaps the most extreme example of a crisis. But situations such as cyberattacks and employee behavior are making the news virtually daily. Examples of companies or public bodies crippled by an attack on their IT systems are commonplace, as are examples of inappropriate behavior. A headline in The Guardian newspaper I was reading last weekend proclaimed: All firms must learn from BP: behavior really matters, and reputational damage will last. This, after Bernard Looney, the now former boss of BP, left his role after revelations of inappropriate behavior.
I’ve written about planning for a crisis earlier this year. But I’m now nudging this back to your attention because I feel that failure to plan for potential crises amounts to corporate negligence.
What you should be doing now
So, at the very least, consider the following:
Form a business continuity team. Ensure the company’s leader is part of that team. Ensure there is a clearly described hierarchy in the case the leader is unavailable, or the subject of the crisis.
Consider as many scenarios as possible. Assign a probability ranking to each scenario.
Consider what actions the company would take in the event of the most probable scenarios becoming reality.
Involve your communications people, both within and external to the company. Make sure there is someone with a specific role as an outsider, whose sole responsibility is to advise on whether discussions are remaining grounded.
Don’t prepare the plan and then leave it to gather digital dust. The business continuity team should meet every three months to ensure the plan remains relevant and sensible.
In the event of a crisis unfolding, common sense and calmness are often the very first qualities to exit the building, just when they are most needed. Planning helps to retain them. No one can predict how an actual crisis will unfold, but pre-planning massively increases the chances of a sensible and successful outcome. There can be few better examples of this than the planning undertaken by Ralabs.
David Josephs
ABOUT ME: I’ve worked in the PR industry for 30 years, and have advised tech companies of all shapes and sizes ever since. My experience extends across Europe, the US and the Middle East. My posts for Laika aim to share some of those experiences to help you make the most of your investment in PR. I’m proud to serve on Laika’s Board of Advisors, and support the team through training sessions and one-to-one guidance.