Leading and Managing in a Crisis
Crises can surprise even the best decision makers. Time is often short and stakes are usually high. Crisis leadership is about the right strategy and crisis management is about the right tactics. Both are essential.
In these high-stress situations, the first challenge is to capture the basis for a good decision:
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Agree on the right frame and
structure that will identify a realistic range of what we can do, assess what we know
as well as don't know, and clarify what we want to achieve. |
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Evaluate the full risk and return
of each strategy, gain buy-in to an appropriate action plan, and involve
the right leaders and managers in the right way. |
The next challenge is to analyze the interactions of the various parties, each with different objectives. Game theory provides a useful framework for identifying the options preferred by each party. Interactions are modeled by assessing priorities among conditional responses.
The final challenge is to make updates and changes as the crisis situation
and environment evolve. Adaptive, competitive modeling allows real-time
modifications of information and strategies. The value of additional modeling helps determine the
robustness of solutions.