What Noah can teach us about Crisis Management Planning 

We all know the bible story of Noah’s Ark where, after having become sorrowful for having created people so wicked, God decided to destroy all living creatures on Earth with a great flood.  Because Noah was trying to live righteously, God apparently took mercy on him and instructed him to build a giant ark into which he would save his family and two of every species from the devastation. 

Well, imagine if Noah neglected to heed the Almighty’s warnings and decided he could handle a little rain when the time came?  OK…maybe we would get along fine without a platypus or two.  But there’s no doubt we can all learn at least one thing from old Noah: The time to plan for a storm is while the sun’s still shining – before the clouds appear. 

The same is true in business.  The time to plan for a crisis is long before disaster strikes. 

Do you have a crisis management plan at your company?  Do you really?  Or is it just an emergency checklist with some phone numbers or a set of universal guidelines passed down from corporate headquarters?  Is it a small life preserver, or an ark — capable of weathering any storm and ensuring the survival of your business? 

Executives and managers at all levels of your organization are paid to manage common business crises and do so on a daily basis.  But without the requisite skills and tools, they may be ill-prepared to manage serious crises that could disrupt your organization’s reputation, income, investments, expenses, stock price, competitive position or ongoing business. 

What would you do if picketers showed up outside your place of business?  What happens if a defect is found in your best-selling product?  What if a fire breaks out in one of your warehouses, or a terrorist plants a bomb at your manufacturing plant? What would happen if a key employee were arrested for a crime?  How would you respond if a competitor launched a new product vastly superior to your own?   

Or maybe your company regularly navigates choppy waters and deploys ongoing issue management, but suddenly must weather an overwhelming storm? What if your energy company, already under assault from environmental groups, finds itself in the crosshairs of Greenpeace? How would you respond if your pharmaceutical company, that intermittently faces consumer backlash for unfair pricing, is featured in a top business journal article on unfair business practices? What if your energy drink brand, previously accused of targeting children, is suspected as a contributing factor in the heart failure of a juvenile?   

If you don’t have answers to these questions along with a program in place – one that can be implemented INSTANTLY – then your crisis management plan may be in need of a serious overhaul.  You need an ark. 

Download “If You Hear the Thunder It’s Too Late To Build The Ark” here.