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Crisis Leadership Now
Book

Crisis Leadership Now

A Real-World Guide to Preparing for Threats, Disaster, Sabotage, and Scandal

Laurence Barton
McGraw-Hill, 2007
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Managing an organization is an awesome challenge during the best of times, but far harder in the worst of times. Every process and problem becomes infinitely more difficult when a disaster strikes, be it an act of terrorism, an industrial emergency, fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, corporate crime, scandal, epidemic, mass murder – you name it. Alas, the old saw that anything that can go wrong will go wrong is often true. Is your organization prepared? Studying this book by crisis expert Laurence Barton is a good way to get ready. He details practical, time-tested responses to disasters of all types. Most crises arrive without warning, so solid preparation is vital, and denial will get you nowhere fast. If you are a CEO, a communications professional or a senior executive, getAbstract advocates reading this very practical book – before the deluge.

Summary

Are You Ready for a Crisis?

Few organizations are prepared for crises or ready to handle disasters. Indeed, many are incompetent at crisis planning, management and communications. Here are some prime examples:

  • Corporate thieves stole millions of customer credit card records from TJX, the corporate parent of Marshall’s and T.J. Maxx retailers, due to its inadequate security system. When the media asked about the theft, TJX reps hid behind “confidentiality.” The company also failed to notify customers promptly.
  • In 2004, an employee at Friendly’s Ice Cream Restaurant in Arlington, Mass., came down with hepatitis. As a result, thousands of diners immediately needed immunoglobulin injections. The media jumped on it. Alas, Friendly’s treated the event too casually, so people stopped eating at the suddenly “unfriendly” outlet, which soon closed.
  • During a Dateline taping for NBC, reporter Brian Ross showed Wal-Mart CEO David Glass an NBC video reporting that small Indian and Pakistani children were working in brutal sweatshops run by Wal-Mart subcontractors. The kids were sewing clothes later marketed as “Made in America.” Ross asked Glass...

About the Author

Laurence Barton, Ph.D., is a crisis management expert who has handled more than 1,200 crisis incidents worldwide. He is a management professor at The American College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

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