Strategic triage

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Despite the best of intentions and a solid strategic plan, leaders can sometimes find their organizations in the throes of an unexpected major crisis that threatens their enterprise’s survival. Whether it is the culmination of changing market forces, a self-inflicted incident or the result of a catastrophe brought about by an unexpected event, enhancing opportunities for enterprise survival are paramount. The most effective crisis management strategies focus on addressing the critical elements that will enhance the survival potential of your enterprise during a significant strategic disruption.

The principle of using triage in your enterprise can be a powerful approach for effectively dealing with a crisis situation in any business setting. The goals of Strategic Triage are the same: to determine the priority of your actions to make a significant difference in your outcome.

There are three critical elements of focus to weather an extinction-level event. You need clarity to make rapid decisions. Your leadership activity must identify the most significant priorities necessary to stabilize your immediate situation so you can act on them. Your conversations need to engage candid dialog with your team.

Clarify the key decisions

Once you recognize you are in a strategic crisis, focus your critical thinking on the key decisions that will matter the most to resolving it. This includes gaining clarity to understand the underlying dynamics that led to the crisis. You need to rapidly obtain candid information about your true situation. How serious is this? Do you have the proper data to understand the magnitude of the crisis, and what are the options you have for addressing it?

Planning in a turbulent period requires a deep assessment of your business environment. This may be the time to bring in trusted advisors to provide you with insight about options to consider. Make sure they have the depth of expertise to truly offer you options to resolve your crisis. You do not want to be part of their learning curve when the stakes are high.

Identify the critical strategic information you need to make decisions. Be clear about the outcome you desire. Do you want to save lives, save jobs or save money? Assess your assumptions and understand the market forces at play that will determine your ability to resolve the crisis. Concentrate your critical thinking to focus on the things that matter most to resolving the short-term issue without blowing up your entire enterprise. Everything else is extraneous and a potential distraction when you are in the throes of a real strategic crisis.

Establish clear priorities

The success of any Strategic Triage effort is to clarify the most significant short-term priorities. Developing clarity among all participants will help them stay focused on the activities which will work to immediately stabilize the situation. Without a clear focus, team members will use their own judgment to focus on activities they deem important. Unfortunately, if they lack good critical thinking skills, they are likely to focus on efforts with minimal impact.

Ensure all your team members and corporate assets are in proper alignment. Everything that is essential to addressing the issue should be deployed toward resolving the crisis. Use everything.

Engage in candid dialog

Engage your key leaders in a candid dialog to identify what they immediately need from their key employees to stabilize the situation or resolve the crisis. Ask your team members to identify your potential options to work-around the gaps caused by the crisis. Use your clarified priorities to give them guidance. By taking control of your communications you will also be better able to manage your message and focus your talking points during the emergency.

In times of strategic crisis, candor is paramount. This is not the time for pretending and wish-crafting your troubles away. Identify what you need from each of your stakeholders to resolve the crisis or to stabilize the immediate situation. Identify the most crucial leadership skills you need to deal with the most pressing issues. Do you have the talent in-house or do you need outside resources?

Evaluate your team’s willingness and capability to step-up to fill the leadership void. Assess your team’s resolve and commitment to turning the situation around. You need to know who you can rely on when the stakes are high.

Be sure to engage with your key stakeholders both inside and outside your organization. This candid dialog will optimize your potential to gain their support and influence to work with you in addressing the crisis. They may have additional ideas and insight too for how to best address the situation or minimize disruptions.

Whether it is the loss of your primary customer, the death of a key employee or surviving a natural disaster, maximizing your options and prioritizing your efforts are essential. Managing your own panic will help you focus your critical thinking on the key decisions you need to address and finding the right advisors to assist you. By doing so, you will maximize your options for weathering the storm and then recalibrating your strategies to optimize your future outcomes.