Ah, yes, we’ve all heard someone say this before. Yet it never seems to get old. Repeatedly, we see the pangs of anxiety on the faces of the unprepared. Hindsight is always 20/20,
as they say, but could those dilemmas have been avoided? Could steps have been taken to prevent catastrophe?
No Fun and Games
Crisis is no fun and games when lives are at risk. The hashtag #TexasFreeze has been trending with grueling photos of
froze-struck homes and Texans living out a nightmare that would have been unfathomable just a few weeks ago. It was sudden and entirely not their fault. Discussions on who’s to blame is circling, but one thing is for sure: those to blame did not prepare for such a scenario.
It’s true that the weather in Texas—as well as most of the US—has been unprecedented the past week, but a blackout caused by
any other crisis was surely possible. What crisis prevention and management plans were in place for when the unlikely would occur? Well, we may never know, but know this: crises, if not preventable, can be minimized with proper preparedness. Investing in a firm that can prepare you for a crisis beforehand is priceless, especially when lives may be at risk.
Crisis Management or Emergency Procedures?
For many, the word preparedness brings images of people living in underground bunkers stocked with food that can sustain them for up to a year. Of course, individual and family preparedness is a good idea. For larger organizations, crisis preparedness is thought of as “emergency procedures,” which can be found in a trusted manual. Having guidelines on emergency procedures is important; however, we at Akanson Media Group understand how crisis preparedness/management differs from emergency procedures. We view crisis management as a dynamic and fluid state of occurrences, not a linear set of actions buried in a 200-page manual.
Bottom line: Be Prepared
Some crises are preventable, while others are inevitable and need to be navigated appropriately. One of our mottos is to prepare when it’s calm—not during a storm!
Want more information on how to receive a custom crisis management plan or ECCO?
Schedule a consultation with us today!
