Bruce T. Blythe

In its simplest form, crisis management is about effectively addressing the needs and concerns of impacted people. When stakeholders perceive that the company isn't meeting their needs or doesn’t care, human-related complications and barriers to crisis resolution will arise, e.g., misunderstandings, hostilities, outrage, fear, revenge and blame.

The top lesson learned from 9/11, to the Indonesia Tsunami, to Hurricane Katrina has been that companies weren’t prepared to address the human-side of crisis. Effective preparedness and response for the human-side of catastrophe management is absolutely vital component for crisis recovery. In addition, NFPA 1600 (Section 3.3) requires that corporate crisis preparedness include not only damage assessment and mitigation for economic resources and physical assets, but also for people impacted by disasters. So, what can a company do to assure they are prepared to meet the needs of impacted stakeholders during serious crises from Avian Flu pandemic to workplace violence? Take-and-use concepts and guidelines will be provided to equip attendees in better addressing the needs of impacted stakeholders who may be adversely affected by crisis incidents. Best practice components for a corporate crisis-related Human Impact Program will be highlighted.

Some people are better at handling unexpected, high-consequence situations than others. What is the formula that guides successful crisis teams and effective individual crisis response?

Generally, teams and leaders who are successful at managing the unexpected place principles over circumstances. They typically have one good overarching reason for choosing the path to follow. They balance intuitive decision-making with thoughtful consideration. They emulate the “state” they want from impacted stakeholders.

Learn how to enhance your calm and assertive ability to effectively handle the unexpected through a time and experience-tested “inside out” and an “outside in” process.

The goal of this session is to assist crisis leaders (whether they want to be or not) in effectively managing catastrophes of disastrous proportions, down through unexpected incidents of daily living. Content draws on the vast worldwide crisis management experience of the presenter in a take-and-use manner that can be applied immediately when needed.

An unexpected, high-consequence crisis situation arises. Early information is incomplete and most often inaccurate. In the early hours, the velocity of necessary crisis-related decisions typically comes fast. Timing is of the essence in order to stay ahead of the developing, wide-spreading reactions of impacted stakeholders.

With insufficient time to gather and verify facts, organizational leaders must be make vital decisions with only partial knowledge. Important decisions must be made when (1) partially informed; (2) time is limited; and (3) the future is uncertain.

Some leaders are much more proficient at making and implementing effective decisions during these uncertain times than others. For many teams and individuals, crises magnify the significance of their small weaknesses. To address this problem, several scientific studies have analyzed and identified “Simple Rules of Thumb” that help organizational leaders make high-quality decisions during turbulent, unstable times.

When can these gut-level decisions (based on partial knowledge) be trusted? Research has shown that decisions made using Simple Rules of Thumb in unexpected high-consequence, fast moving situations lead to superior decision-making. These decisions are less prone to estimation and calculation errors than decisions that are “over thought.”

What are the concrete “Simple Rules of Thumb” that highly effective leaders focus upon during unexpected crisis situations . . . from frequent, less severe crises to incidents of disastrous proportions? This presentation will help each participant obtain take-and-use methods for increasing the quality of decision-making during uncertain, high-consequence situations that inevitably occur from time to time in one’s career and personal life.