All organizations are subject to crisis. Managers whose organizations encounter a crisis must act quickly-to recognize its source, contain it, and eventually resolve it with the least amount of damage. Yet few managers receive any formal training in this critical area. This book aims to remedy the situation by explaining the essentials of crisis management and providing a practical framework for stabilizing, then mastering, an unanticipated crisis. Topics include:

Preparing for and avoiding crises

Recognizing crises when they happen

Developing contingency plans

Learning from past crises

Plus, readers can access free interactive tools on the Harvard Business Essentials companion Web site at www.elearning.hbsp.org/businesstools.

The Harvard Business Essentials series is designed to provide comprehensive advice, personal coaching, background information, and guidance on the most relevant topics in business. Drawing on rich content from Harvard Business School Publishing and other sources, these concise guides are carefully crafted to provide a highly practical resource for readers with all levels of experience and will prove especially valuable for the new manager.To assure quality and accuracy, each volume is closely reviewed by a specialized content adviser from a world-class business school. Whether you are a new manager seeking to expand your skills or a seasoned professional looking to broaden your knowledge base, these solution-oriented books put reliable answers at your fingertips.

Introduction

1 Taking Stock of Potential Perils

What Could Go Wrong?

  Sources of Potential Crises

  Identifying Potential Crises

  Prioritizing Potential Crises

  Summing Up

2 Avoiding the Avoidable

An Ounce of Prevention...

  Prepare a Systematic Program of Crisis Avoidance

  Heed the Signals of Impending Crisis

  Look BeforeYou Leap

  Don't Forget About Insurance

  Summing Up

3 Contingency Planning

Preparing Today/or Tomorrow's Problems

  Step 1: Organize a Planning Team

  Step 2:Assess the Scope of the Problem

  Step 3: Develop a Plan

  Step 4:Test the Plan

  Step 5: Keep the Plan Up-to-Date

  AreYou Ready?

   How One Company Plans and Prepares for Crises

   Summing Up

4 Crisis Recognition

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

  Different Warning Signals

  Why Warnings Are Often Unheeded

  Solutions

  Summing Up

5 Containment

Preventing a Bad Situation from Becoming Worse

  Rule 1:Act Quickly and Decisively

  Rule 2: Put People First

  Rule 3: Be on the Scene

  Rule 4: Communicate Liberally

  When in Doubt, LetYour Training,Values, and Instincts

    GuideYou

  Summing Up

6 Crisis Resolution

 The Road to RecoverT

   Move Quickly

   Gather Facts Continually

   Communicate Relendessly

  DocumentYour Actions

  Use Project Management Techniques When Appropriate

  Be a Leader

  Declare the End of the Crisis

  Summing Up

7 Mastering the Media

Make It Your StotT

  Handle the Media with Care

  Match the Message and Media to Different Segments

  Frequently Asked Questions

  Summing Up

Learning from Your Experience

Gather Lessons Where You Find Them

  Mark the End of the Crisis

  Record the Crisis Response

  Capture the Lessons Learned

  Summing Up

Appendix A: Useful Implementation Tools

Appendix B: How to Write a Press Release

Notes

For Further Reading

Index

About the Subject Adviser

About the Writer