Are You the First Person in Your Organization? Performing in Your Finest Hour
Every crisis is a human crisis. The rate of change and the increasing number of crises is impacting us all in new ways, causing historical plans to fall short at the most critical time. At Firestorm, we have witnessed organizations jump immediately to perform in a crisis, bypassing the critical predict and plan stages. As a result, mistakes were made.
To quote Winston Churchill:
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
In news events, we traditionally look to the first-person perspective. The first-person point-of-view is important to provide insights into an event. When you look at a crisis, emergency or a disaster unfolding, reports quote the first-person narrative, someone who was directly impacted. How did it feel? What did it mean? What is their understanding? First-person insight becomes incredibly powerful.
Let’s apply that to a crisis. Remember, a crisis is not business as usual, it is business as unusual. In a crisis, what is it that you want the first person to decide, do, and say? The first person who knows about the crisis has a specific set of responsibilities.
Who is the First Person you look to? What are the decisions you make? The actions you take? The words you say? Every decision, action and word taken will determine if an event will stabilize or escalate.
How do you know if it’s your finest hour?
Crisis and Risk Solutions
Disaster readiness and enterprise value go hand-in-hand. Both are dynamic, forward-looking and expectations-based. The ability of management to plan for unexpected business-compromising situations, and be effective in turning them around, is more important in driving business recovery than the direct financial consequences of the disaster.
Today’s organizations are experiencing pressures to address the resiliency of their key processes from many different dimensions. Whether it is regulatory pressures, supply chain requirements, auditing or client requirements, organizations are making decisions to implement business continuity programs that will prepare their organizations for improved resilience. Taking steps toward an appropriate level of business continuity will allow an organization to see immediate value from the investment in time and resources.
Promoting and enforcing a culture of readiness protects a company’s assets.
To assist your “First Person” and create a more resilient organization, Firestorm is introducing six solutions to support you before, during and after a crisis. Our services and team deliver subject matter knowledge and expertise to you.
FIRST SOLUTIONS
People Solutions – Firestorm welcomes the team and leadership of BC Management as of 2018 to the Firestorm family. And, because solutions need people, Firestorm now supplies People Solutions by identifying and providing top level employees along with project staffing to support client programs. Firestorm People Solutions is now the only executive search practice that specializes in business continuity, disaster recovery, crisis management, risk management, and information security careers. Led by Cheyene Marling who brings deep, executive-level leadership to the practice, Firestorm People Solutions has a global reach that extends to more than 60,000 dedicated professionals in over 90 countries.
Security Solutions – Security Solutions provides security assessments, the BERTHA® program, active shooter training and certification. The Firestorm Security Solutions Team is comprised of highly trained, former US Secret Service Agents empowered to train all staff and design customized plans for emergency and critical incidents response for your school, child care center, or business.
Professional Services Solutions – Performing assessments, developing plans, training people, conducting exercises, and knowing both the “what” to do and “how” to do in a crisis is critical. This solution provides vulnerability threat assessments, crisis plan updates, test exercises and assists in creating a culture of preparedness.
Intelligence Solutions – This solution identifies risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and behaviors of concern; useful Protective and Predictive Intelligence that can be used to identify threats before they become crises.
Analytical Solutions – In a crisis, one rarely has time to analyze data to determine the next, best course of action. Quality and depth of research data is essential in calm and crisis. From aggregate benchmarking to custom data, Analytical Solutions will empower your team and crisis response.
What Will You Do in Your Finest Hour?
“…What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
Are you prepared to transform crisis into value? Your organization is not defined by what happens, but rather how you respond. The new year has begun. The time to plan is now, not when a crisis hits your organization.
Whether you need assistance and direction in security, planning or crisis response, we’re here to help. Contact Firestorm for any questions or concerns.
“What should we do now?” “What should we say?”