Corporate Disasters; Some are Natural and Some are Manmade – Organizations Need to Prepare for Both

When corporations and organizations deal with a crisis, contingency planning is required and is something that must be done long before the crisis hits.  As often is the case one manmade corporate crisis will cause a domino effect as was seen recent when Fidelity Investments sacked two executives on the heels of Hollywood’s latest sexual harassment epidemic.  However the two cases illustrate different contingency planning processes, the Hollywood studio had very little in the ways of succession planning for such crises whereas a stolid Boston bank was prepared to easily remove rogue players.

When corporations and organizations deal with a crisis, contingency planning is required and is something that must be done long before the crisis hits.  As often is the case one manmade corporate crisis will cause a domino effect as was seen recent when Fidelity Investments sacked two executives on the heels of Hollywood’s latest sexual harassment epidemic.  However the two cases illustrate different contingency planning processes, the Hollywood studio had very little in the ways of succession planning for such crises whereas a stolid Boston bank was prepared to easily remove rogue players.

Crisis management must cover all types of impingements to the operation of an organization.  Much like hurricane preparedness, companies must have contingency and succession plans in place in the event a crisis is created by their employees.  Much like in natural disaster preparedness the focus for succession planning in these events must focus on ensuring their customers that management is in control, services will continue and the issue will be resolved.  Strong management of manmade internal crises caused by employees are as important as preparing for Mother Nature’s wrath; both disasters must be treated with equal communication and preparation.