Giving Compass' Take:

• Forbes offers advice as to how to purposefully and strategically manage a crisis through just three steps: preparation, reaction, and bridging the gaps. 

• If an individual can not prepare for a crisis in advance, what should the protocol be in terms of risk management? 

• Read about the role of nonprofits in disaster recovery and crisis management.

Leading through a crisis well is all about inspiring and enabling others to get things vaguely right quickly, and then adapting along the way—with clarity around direction, leadership, and roles. By definition, a crisis has a major, temporary impact. The best responders take a disciplined, iterative approach to preparing in advance, reacting quickly and flexibly and then bridging gaps in the current situation, their future ability to respond and reducing risks of future crises happening at all.

Practice disciplined iteration in line with your overall purpose:

  1. Prepare in advance: The better you have anticipated possible scenarios, the more prepared you are, the more confidence you will have when crises strike.
  2. React to events: The reason you prepared is so that you all can react quickly and flexibly to the situation you face. Don’t overthink this. Do what you prepared to do.
  3. Bridge the gaps: In a crisis, there is inevitably a gap between the desired and current state of affairs. Rectify that by bridging those gaps in the situation, response, and prevention measures.

Read the full article on crisis management by George Bradt at Forbes