Learn how to survive the 'Second Storm'
Most businesses and organisations get through the first hours of a crisis without too much pain.
It's the days and weeks that follow that do the damage – when the adrenaline wears off, the pressure keeps building and nobody has decided how to move on. That's the second storm.
I've written two practical guides for getting through both storms, drawing on more than 30 years of leading and advising through workplace fatalities, natural disasters, major incidents and reputational crises.
Second Storm: Crisis Leadership for Small Business is for owners and managers of small businesses. This book understands the gritty, day-to-day reality of trying to run a business, pay the bills and look after your people when the world is falling apart around you. There’s no crisis team, no template to follow and no money to buy in an expert. Your brains trust is your accountant, your mate whose business went through something like this five years ago, and your teenage son who knows about IT stuff.
Second Storm: Crisis Leadership for Organisations is for CEOs, general managers and senior leaders in business and government. It understands the complexity of working with boards, ministers, numerous stakeholders and a large team of professional experts. There are multiple approval pathways, no-one is sure who is making the final decision, and complex institutional arrangements have to be officially stood up and later stood down. There’s a piece of paper for everything, and a template that needs to be on the Chair’s desk at 9am every day.
Both books include real-world case studies, checklists, templates and plain advice you can use on the day.