Crisis Leadership Now: A Real‐world Guide to Preparing for Threats, Disaster, Sabotage and Scandal

Citation

McLaren, L.C. (2009), "Crisis Leadership Now: A Real‐world Guide to Preparing for Threats, Disaster, Sabotage and Scandal", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 33 No. 7, pp. 671-672. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590910985417

Book synopsis

The focus of this book is to emphasise the importance of adequate workplace security in the changing world in which we live. The author speaks candidly from personal experience and draws on real life examples to demonstrate both good practice and failures in crisis management. The author ultimately seeks to highlight and address difficult topics in relation to safety and security by encouraging the reader to scrutinise levels of accountability and responsibility for crisis management within their own organisation. The reader is encouraged to reflect on the adequacy of both human resource and crisis management policy; and the author then offers practical guidance on how to assess existing controls and how to implement robust crisis management policy and practice.

The introductory chapter injects a real sense of reality, asking the reader to reflect on worst‐case scenario situations in their own organisations. The author then seeks to crush any preconceived ides of “it won't happen here” by shocking the reader with a list of disturbing global events, emphasising that consideration of the potential risks that may face an organisation is crucial to both good business practice and in many cases survival.

Chapter one concentrates on the analysis of existing internal controls and practices, in relation to security. It outlines a series of critical incidences, including the lessons learned from the Virginia Tech massacre. Chapter 2 focuses on the management of workplace threats and violence; discussing employer's duties, threat assessment and targeting resources. Chapter 3 is a very short chapter, which presents the Threat and Violence Response model.

Chapter four specifically discusses the role of Human Resources in providing robust screening, selection and separation policies, and argues that while this kind of preparation is crucial, crisis prevention is vital. Like Chapter 3, chapter 5 is a very short chapter and introduces the Crisis Prevention diagram encouraging readers to reflect on and define appropriate crisis prevention objectives.

Chapters six to ten outline and discuss in detail key types of crisis from pandemics and natural disaster, to terrorism and industrial sabotage. The author breaks down the key elements of these crises, offering practical information and guidance on the strategic planning and management required to effectively navigate an organisation through difficult events of this nature.

The importance of communication during times of crises and response to crisis prevention are discussed in Chapters 11 and 12, while the author then looks back at lessons learnt from history in Chapters 13 and 14. The final chapters in this publication are reserved for practical action planning; including a 40‐page plan covering crisis response and recovery. The author looks at the effects of a crisis across each organisational department and aims to assign responsibility before, during and after a period of threat or crisis.

Evaluation

The author draws on over 20 years of personal experience of teaching organisations how to anticipate and respond to crises in the workplace, and thus demonstrates a high level of expertise. While this publication is clearly written for a US audience, in its reference to employment and health safety legislation, the author offers valuable insight and guidance on the identification of risk and the formulation of crisis strategy, which could be practiced in any organisation in any country.

The author uses a wide range of examples of well‐known institutions in both the public and private sector, but predominantly targets medium to large organisations where security is a forgotten necessity and thus where there is no clearly defined business strategy for crises management.

This publication provides an excellent introduction to crisis management and goes further by taking a holistic view of the responsibilities of both the individual and the organisation. It offers a valuable insight into how crisis management can and should be integrated into overall strategic business planning.

In the author's own words

Who owns your radar screen? … Keep in mind that most crises are defined by four basic questions. These are the ones that haunt executives after a crisis has rocked their organisation:

1. What did you know?

2. When did you know it?

3. What did you do about it?

The fourth question is particularly important:

4. What are you going to do to ensure that it never happens again?

About the reviewer

Lauren C. McLaren is the Human Resource Manager at Stoneridge Electronics in Dundee, Scotland. She is a graduate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Her research interests are in the areas of performance management, training and development and health and well being in the workplace.