Presented by:
Date:
“There are costs and risks to a program of action, but
they are far less than the long-range risks and costs
of comfortable inaction.”
– John F. Kennedy
Cliff Trollope, CBCP, CRM, CAS
March 9, 2017
Leadership in Crisis The Competitive Advantage & Preparing for Success
Leadership in a crisis is different ….but not that much
Leadership in a crisis starts long before the crisis
Leader qualities and actions during a crisis
Crisis events and Reputation
Communication and an Emerging Risk
Main Themes
Business Resilience Value Proposition
• Minimize financial losses
• Protect people
• Protect assets
• Protect and improve reputation
• Enhance service
• Ensure high quality and efficient processes
• Maintain obligations and strategic objectives
• Provide assurance to senior management and the board on the continuity of
operations
Why Some Leaders Struggle in a Crisis
• Executives and managers are effective leaders during “normal”
operations because they are knowledgeable and proficient in their
roles, and in a familiar environment
• A crisis is “not normal”. Therefore in order to be an effective leader in a
crisis, people need to be knowledgeable and proficient in dealing with
the “not normal”
• In a crisis the number of ultimate decisions makers may be few,
…but everyone must display leadership and senior leaders must set
the conditions for success
Characteristics of a Crisis – the “Not Normal”
• Confusion, friction, pressure and stress
• Bodies undergo physiological changes
• Lack of clear information about what is happening
• Limited time in which to make decisions
• Attention from your community, stakeholders, and the media may be
intense
• News may travel fast, shaping the public perception of the crisis and how
it is being handled
• Not “business as usual”
So what can we do?
Principles of Leadership
• Know yourself and seek self-improvement
• Be technically proficient
• Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
• Make sound and timely decisions
• Set the example
• Know your people and look out for their well-being
• Keep your workers informed
• Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers
• Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished
• Train and prepare as a team
• Use the full capabilities of your organization
Emergency
Procedures
Business
as Usual
Normal Operations Normal Operations
Event
Proactive
Preparedness • Program Governance
• Risk Assessment
• Business Impact
Analysis
• Plan Development
• Testing/Maintenance
4
Governance and
Structure
Risk Assessment and Analysis
Plans and Procedures
Sustainment and
Continuous Improvement
Elements
• Policy
• Program Structure and Management
• Program Integration
Elements
• Risk Assessment
• HIRA
• Business Impact Analysis
Elements
• Emergency Procedures
• Emergency Response Plan
• Crisis Management Plan
• Crisis/Emergency Communication Plan
• Business Continuity Plan
Elements
• Training and Awareness
• Exercises
• Maintenance
• Program Audit and Review
Position Your Organization for Success:
Develop a Full Program
Growth
Collapse
Recovery
Crisis
Responsiveness
Able to
respond?
Able to
recover?
Event Management Recovery
Team performance
following a crisis event
Under
performance
Crisis
Adaptability
Crisis Resilient Team Culture
Observe:
Identification of incident
Orient/Assess:
What happened?
What does it mean?
What is impacted?
Who is impacted?
Who needs to know?
When does impact start?
Decide:
What needs to be done?
Who needs to do it?
When does it need to be done by?
Who needs to know?
Act:
Execute decisions and Assess Results
Decision Making in a Crisis: Effective crisis management depends on an efficient and effective Decision
and Action Cycle
Decision Making in a Crisis
• Crisis generally requires a more intuitive decision making process
• Pattern recognition is more important for intuitive decision making
• Enhancing pattern recognition can be done through
oDirect experience
o Learning from the experiences of others
oSimulations and exercises
Leader Qualities and Actions During a Crisis
Effective Crisis Leaders:
• Always put people first
• Think strategically and act tactically
• Understand the impact of moral courage and resilience
• Are visible and confident
• Know their role and “stay in their lane”
• Welcome the help of others and have built a good support team prior to the
crisis
• Trust those around them
Case Studies - Leader Actions in a Crisis
• Leaders must be
visible and confident,
but that is not enough
• Importance of
managing
expectations
• Never underestimate
the impact of moral
courage
21
Case Study: Maple Leaf Foods Listeriosis
Crisis
Key Lessons:
– Leadership “setting the tone”
– Planning and preparedness
– Importance of annual crisis simulations and exercises
– Effective internal and external communications
– Use of third party experts
Response gets all of the attention, but
preparation and mitigation
makes all of the difference.
Leadership in a crisis begins long before
the crisis.
Preparation and Mitigation – A Game Changer
• There needs to be an open and
frank dialogue about risks,
mitigation, preparation and
costs with executives, CEOs
and boards
• “Make it right – the first time…”
Communications – Expect Challenges
• The importance of managing
expectations
• Effective Crisis Communications
depends heavily on effective
Information Management
• Think hard about your messages and
media and test them beforehand if you
have time
People, Attitude and
Approach
Frameworks, Structures
and Plans
Crisis Management
Capacity
Outcomes
Continuous Improvement
Co
mm
un
ica
tio
n Im
pro
ve
s
Some Key Facts
• Reputation in crisis (and any time) is a strategic matter for senior leaders – not public
relations, not media relations, not anyone else
• Technology and social media have changed crisis management
o Speed of information passage
o Easier for anyone (or group) to be an activist, push their view or opinion, and have
access to the public and your stakeholders
Be “Reputation Proactive” Before, During and
After the Crisis
Before:
• Anticipate and assess in advance – know what issues could
escalate to a crisis with some stakeholders
• Where possible, prepare to deal with the potential issues and
stakeholders in advance
• Know what your company stands for, your value to the
community and stakeholders, your strengths etc. and use it to
your advantage in a crisis
Be “Reputation Proactive” Before, During and
After the Crisis
During:
• Be proactive and advocate for your company – not just “smooth
over”
• If a mistake was made, admit it but do not stop there - talk up
what you do well and what you are doing to address the issue
• Address the issue of “systemic”
• Do not let individuals or special interest groups dictate or
highjack your reputation and be ready for the “unreasonable”
Be “Reputation Proactive” Before, During and
After the Crisis
After:
• Think of reputational crisis management as a
campaign – sustained effort may be required
• Plan for and be prepared to revisit
• Learn from the crisis
Changing Landscape – Digital Privacy Act
• Canada's new Digital Privacy Act has introduced a mandatory breach
notification
• any organization that experiences the loss or theft of personal
information putting people at "real risk of significant harm" will be
required to notify
– Office of the Privacy Commissioner
– individuals affected
• Failing to do so could result in fines of up to $100,000 per offence
Changing Landscape
• Canadian Securities Administrator (CSA) recently published a notice urging
immediate action to strengthen cyber security awareness, preparedness and
resilience in Canadian capital markets with a focus on:
– cyber security risk assessment and information security governance programs
– IT safeguards and controls
– use of encryption
– risks related to third-party service providers
– vulnerability tests and compliance monitoring
– evidence of regular employee training and awareness
– incident response plans
Cyber Security Incidents – What should we
do
• All of the previously discussed themes and guiding principles apply
• Focus on the items CSA has flagged as their focus areas
• Build a specific cyber breach plan or checklist
• Build the team to support
– Cyber security professionals to help with mitigation and building response
plans (also leverage support from police)
– Legal
– Insurance
Concluding Comments
• Leadership in a crisis situation is hard, but you can prepare and become
better at it
• Effective crisis leadership begins prior to the crisis - position yourself and your
business for success
• In a crisis don’t expect to rise to the challenge, but rather descend to the level
of your preparation and experience
Cliff Trollope, CBCP, CRM, CAS
Direct Line: 416.515.3851
Email: [email protected]
“When the tide goes out, we find out who’s
been swimming without a bathing suit”
– Warren Buffett, July ‘07
Questions and Discussion