Tag Archives: Crisis Management

7 Steps of Crisis Leadership

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Photo by krystenn on flickr.

It happens.

A crisis.  A major problem.  A disaster.

If it hasn’t happened to you, my guess is that it will.  Most all of us will find a time in our careers when we are right in the middle of it.

Several times in my career, I’ve found myself in difficult situations.  For me, I find it may be stressful, but also energizing at the same time.  At least a crisis is a reason to take quick, decisive action because a lot is on the line.

What do you do when you find yourself in a really tough situation?

The Five C’s of a Successful Turnaround

Turnaround Photo

Image courtesy of istockphoto/spxChrome

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a Distressed Investing Conference in Florida.  It’s really a turnaround conference designed for professionals focused on fixing troubled companies.  Since I’ve had plenty of crisis management experience in turning around troubled businesses, I was asked to share war stories and strategies.  I also enjoyed the opportunity to network and learn from the 200 industry leaders in attendance.

Here are the five major points I shared:

1. Control.  I’m not a big proponent of top-down, autocratic management systems.  I much prefer an entrepreneurial environment with lots of input and a leader with a persuasive style.  In a crisis, though, it’s often necessary to ramp up the control level and increase the speed of decision making.  I tend to move very fast anyway, and I like to seek opinions and then make a decision and move on.  If you are in trouble, you don’t have the luxury of numerous meetings and extensive analysis.