Page 55 - The Voice of Authority

Let’s talk about the reasoning behind this decision. I’m
open for questions.”
They asked. But with complete information that had
been missing in previous years and a straightforward ex-
planation about the future, the CEO gained their trust and
buy-in. Today, the glass is three-quarters full.
Negative news is no time for withholding. It’s time for
prompt truth telling in a positive frame of mind with a
clear plan of action.

Develop More than a “We’ve Always
Been Lucky” Crisis Plan
Listen to those on-the-street interviews after a crisis
strikes—natural disaster, power outage in the state, ter-
rorist attack, computer hacker stealing all the company’s
trade secrets. The reporter asks the vice president, “So do
you have a back-up plan to get the situation back to nor-
mal?”
“Well, up until now we’ve just always been lucky, I
guess . . .” and he or she begins to explain the company’s
lack of a back-up plan. “We just never thought something
like this would happen here.”
It might happen here. There. At your place. Whatever
the “it” might be. So before a crisis strikes, have a crisis plan
and communicate the details to everyone who needs to
know.
I’m not necessarily talking about your single-handed re-
sponsibility to shut down Manhattan. I’m talking about
your plan to reproduce documents when the power goes
off in the building and you have reports and proposals due
to clients. I’m not talking about landing the plane in Iran
in case of a terrorist attack. I’m talking about landing the
client project in case the competition offers a 20 percent

Is It Complete? 43