December 2009

Back2School

Last week I was chosen to participate as a judge at a Roanoke College advanced level business policy class. The fall semester student project was to plan, develop and introduce a new business. Hundreds of work hours went into the building of rationale, process, and the overflowing binders distributed with their presentations. The team I judged was opening a nightclub in State College, Pennsylvania. It was clear they had thought creatively, comprehensively and worked as a team. It was impressive.

As judges, we had the opportunity to ask questions as we evaluated their plans for the club. Never being one to shy away from stretching young minds -- I focused several questions on the issue of thinking ahead. How would the team handle something bad happening at their establishment – not an unreasonable thought when you consider the elements involved in such an endeavor? All their thought and hard work had somehow failed to consider the impact of a crisis and the ramifications of being unprepared to communicate clearly and calmly in the wake of such an event. Clearly, such planning wasn’t on their radar – at all.

Lesson4Us

What about you and your organization? Are you ready for the unexpected? Perhaps you don’t have the exposure of a bar/nightclub, but crisis plays no favorites and comes in all sizes and scopes. A timely and well thought out response is the best defense. Build out some actions steps for potential problem areas with your business and get your leadership communicating about how you can work together.