Crisis Management - Why wait for a crisis to manage a problem?

Why is it that it always seems to take a crisis to recognize a major problem?

Is it a rhetorical question, or is there really an answer?

The tragic events of the past week in Las Vegas leave us heartbroken, saddened, and with a reminder of the fragile nature of life. It also haunts us with the question of why, and of how something like this can be prevented in the future. Officials will be dealing with these issues in the coming days/weeks/months.

For those of us who think proactively by nature, it begs the question, can recognition of a problem in advance potentially avoid a crisis or disaster? I believe maybe not always, but definitely sometimes.

To provide some personal context . . . On September 9, 2001, my wife and I traveled via commercial airliner returning to San Francisco from the Midwest. On that flight we had a surreal and unsettling experience, as we were seated next to an unkempt and disheveled man who frankly resembled the “Unabomber” character. Not to be judgmental, but much to our amazement, during the flight this individual pulled out a switchblade which was about 8”, and he started methodically slicing the pages of the magazine he was browsing, while acting rather agitated. Needless to say, at the end of the flight, my wife and I scurried to get off the plane and away from this individual. On the way home we compared notes and discussed the bizarre flight details, wondering how he was ever able to board the plane with that knife and that behavior. Ironically and fatefully, two days later the tragedy of 9/11/01 happened.

To this day, I’m still troubled by those series of events in 2001, and of our precursor flight on the 9th. Not being a frequent traveler, and putting on my audit/statistical sampling hat, I’m convinced that our encounter with "Look-alike Mr. Unabomber" was not a one-in-a-million chance, and that during that same time period other bizarre, suspicious, and potentially threatening activities were happening on other flights. And to further the thought, if that’s the case, why did it take such a terrible crisis and loss of life on 9/11 to address what after-the-fact appeared to be a significant and obvious problem? For this crisis to occur, there must have been a major breakdown in the system, and a disregard for controls and warnings, creating what appeared to be an accident-waiting-to-happen scenario – and history later corroborated this..

So, is there a lesson? I believe there is.

Crises and disasters will never be eliminated, and effective crisis management will always be a critical aspect of leadership and organizational management. But within one’s sphere of control and that of an organization, a culture can be created that promotes constant improvement, common sense, awareness, and vigilance, so as to identify, minimize, and/or avoid potential crises.

On a simple level it can be as basic as the traditional SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), an exercise that helps raise awareness of the question - what can go wrong?

On a more complex level, it’s a matter of instilling disciplined processes within an entity or organization that:

· Test/audit the system,

· Hold accountability,

· Facilitate open and interactive communication, and

· Provide transparency for all activities.

It also requires an environment of honesty and proactiveness so that when problems are identified and do occur, they are addressed immediately, directly, and not “swept under the carpet”.

So, for those individuals and families impacted by crises and life’s disasters, then and now, we can only offer our condolences, support, and assistance, where possible.

And for those situations where crises have not yet occurred, but where problems exist, symptoms have been identified, and the potential is credible, there is hope. We can use our best resources and abilities to proactively fix the track in advance, “right” the rail car immediately, and hopefully avoid a costly and potentially disastrous train wreck down the line.