Big Idea Daily | Conquering Crisis
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Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Themby Admiral William H. McRaven |
“In a crisis, take every action possible to demonstrate transparency, answer every difficult question, and showcase the truth. It is your best defense against the uninformed.”ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN |
BIG IDEA
The Five Phases of a Crisis
FROM THE BOOK“In my experience, there are five phases of a crisis.
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Depending on the circumstances, each phase will vary in length and intensity. The first step is always the Assessment. What’s going on? How bad is the catastrophe? How will it affect my organization? Correctly assessing the situation is key to what follows. Next is the Reporting phase. As a leader, you will have to report to your boss, your clients, your workforce, and the public. Accuracy in reporting is essential. Never mislead any of your constituents. Then comes the Containment phase. This is the most complex, necessitating a balance of speed and caution. Rarely do leaders get this phase exactly right. But knowing a balance is required is crucial. The containment phase is about preventing the crisis from getting worse. It generally requires the maximum amount of resources, strategically placed. You must stop the crisis’s momentum to get the situation in hand. Once contained, you must Shape the outcome in your favor. Now the momentum is on your side. Finally, you must Manage the crisis. This could be a long-term proposition and requires a thoughtful use of manpower and resources until the crisis is resolved.” |
Brian's Notes
That’s from the Introduction.
The passage follows the story of a time Admiral McRaven met one of his heroes, Captain Jim Lovell.
Lovell, as McRaven tells the story, “along with Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were the crew of Apollo 13 when on April 13, 1970, on their way to the moon, an oxygen tank exploded in the service module. The explosion forced them to abandon the command module (CM) and move to the much smaller lunar module (LM). The LM had very limited resources, lacking sufficient power, water, and oxygen for the three astronauts.”
How did Lovell and his fellow astronauts conquer that crisis? They embodied the ideals McRaven discusses in the book and, more specifically, followed the five phases of a crisis—which are, to recap: Assess, Report, Contain, Shape, and Manage.
As I look back at the crises I have navigated over the last several years, I can see exactly those phases.
(How about you?)
And, knowing that future crises are an inevitable part of any leader’s life, I’m fired up to help us focus on McRaven’s “Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them.”
(How about you?)
Here’s a quick look at those 10 Lessons:
- First Reports Are Always Wrong: Owing to the chaotic nature of a crisis, a leader should always be skeptical about first reports. They are invariably inaccurate or misleading.
- Have a Council of Colonels: In a crisis, having a team of trusted advisors is essential for success.
- Bad News Doesn’t Get Better with Age: Delaying a painful truth never makes a situation easier. The sooner you inform your boss about a crisis, the quicker you can resolve it.
- Weaponize the Truth: Be transparent in your actions to resolve a crisis. The truth can be a great weapon against misperception and trust.
- Move All Your Options Forward: In a crisis, your choice of actions may be constrained by a lack of information. Therefore, always have multiple options available and at the ready.
- Trust the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Crises never get better through inaction.
- Don’t Rush to Failure: In a crisis there is always the need to move quickly, but... don’t move so fast that you outpace your planning, your preparation, your resources, or your strategy.
- Micromanagement Is Not an Ugly Word: During a crisis, you must make certain that those responsible for managing the outcome know precisely what you expect of them.
- Dictate the Tempo: Every crisis has a pace at which it unfolds. A leader must act quickly and decisively so the tempo of the crisis doesn’t overwhelm your ability to respond effectively.
- There Is Always Time for a Morale Check: You must manage your time so you can dedicate sufficient effort into maintaining the morale of your team. Without high morale, the quality of the organization’s work will suffer, and your response will be less effective.
Big Ideas
01: THE FIVE PHASES
02: “I OWN THIS!”
03: ENTROPY
04: DON’T RUSH TO FAILURE
05: “MORALE CHECK!”
“The wise man bridges the gap by laying out the path by means of which he can get from where he is to where he wants to go.”J.P. MORGAN |
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