How to Handle a Crisis

Crisis: A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point. (American Heritage Dictionary)

How to handle a crisis?

The best thing is to have a plan of action prepared in advance. That way, you can react swiftly and smartly when a crisis hits. Crises by nature are messy, often unfolding at a pace that makes careful and considered response difficult. Sometimes, they stem from unforeseen events, and in retrospect some could have been predicted, but always they present a test of leadership skill and preparation.

Communication Is Key

Crises represent turning points for business health and reputation, often leaving both in tatters. If handled well, though, a crisis response can actually enhance reputation and spur some needed dialogue and change. Considering an airline achieved its tremendous growth largely because of its customer-friendly reputation, its failure to anticipate such cancellations and plan accordingly became the focus of the debate over what went wrong.

Playing Ostrich Won't Work

At minimum, clear and immediate communication is an antidote. If stakeholders know you're aware that there's a problem, that may be enough in the short run to maintain goodwill until the problem is fixed or at least dealt with. Yet it's far easier to find examples of poor-crisis communications response than it is to find examples of those who learn from others' high-profile mistakes. A lack of information fuels anxiety rather than defuses it.

7 steps in responding to a crisis: http://www.businessweek.com/playbook/07/0904_1.htm