University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Leadership in the Eye of the Storm
Book

Leadership in the Eye of the Storm

Putting Your People First in a Crisis

Bill Tibbo
University of Toronto Press, 2016
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Don’t put off planning how to take care of your employees in a disaster. This guide by crisis management expert Bill Tibbo relates firsthand accounts of four leaders’ successful efforts during potentially catastrophic times. Follow Tibbo’s practical steps to prepare your business, support your staff, recover fully, and maintain or rebuild your place in the market. Tibbo provides a go-to resource for companies creating or refining crisis or disaster recovery plans. getAbstract finds that Tibbo’s guidance will matter to anyone involved in disaster planning and anyone who should be: managers at all levels, HR and employee assistance program staff, and emergency response teams.

Summary

“Helping People Cope”

The field of “business continuity management” covers the work of preparing for and coping with natural disasters, fires, medical emergencies and various kinds of tragedies. These crises directly affect the people who work for you. Management, staff, clientele and vendors may feel the effects of a crisis, as may tangential community groups, such as media and governmental agencies.

A crisis is “a complex and unexpected event that creates instability, damage, threat, or risk to the company and its people.” An organization that is responsible for “trauma response” must tend to the “emotional, psychological and social” needs of its people. This includes “crisis-based” employee assistance programs (EAPs), and encompasses much more.

Crisis Lessons

Crises happen with unfortunate frequency. The most common include natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding and drought; diseases like Ebola, Zika and SARS; and violent events, such as terrorist attacks, wars and mass shootings. Crises vary, as do the type and quality of leaders’ responses to them.

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, took over the top job at her company two weeks before...

About the Author

For 30 years, Bill Tibbo has guided organizations preparing for, responding to and bouncing back from crises – including shootings, terrorist attacks, epidemics, suicides and natural disasters.

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