Years ago, people in my community used to tell my Dad I was good in a crisis. I didn’t actually hear that compliment until many years later because he didn’t share it directly with me. I remember feeling quite the opposite about myself, however. I hated crisis.
In those days, “crisis” related to small things; having to take over the job of chief pipeline inspector because you had to take the last guy to the hospital, as he had passed out in his trailer after going AWOL on a pipeline project. Crisis management meant I took over his job in addition to my role as pipeline engineer. Truth be told, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I learned a lot from those construction crews. Things that I never would have learned in the office or during my weekly site visits.
Another “crisis” occurred when the subcontractor pipeline survey crew didn’t show because their paycheques had bounced. Again, my short-term solution was to take over and survey ahead of the pipeline construction for a few days until the situation was resolved. I had to keep ahead of that black exhaust smoke coming from the construction equipment chasing me. The title of project engineer covered a lot of territory in those days.
As the years went by, I decided that I did not like “firefighting” crises, so I planned better. I brought in backup, asked for help, came up with systems, policies, procedures, and kept in touch with the best crew members I had previously worked with. I did not often think of that first incremental and informal gut-based approach as preparation, but that is what it was.
As the years went by, the projects got larger, and the risks increased. Operating by gut instinct wasn’t enough. I finally arrived in a large engineering firm with a “get it done” culture that was full of hard-driven and brilliant engineers. There were standards, procedures, and copious experience at hand which I knew I could rely on. That firm merged with a global project delivery company that tried to prepare for EVERYTHING. This brought my understanding of crisis preparation to a new level. Believe it or not, we planned for pandemics. We also anticipated all forms of site disruption, from explosions and fires to protests to labour unrest. We ran simulations with large teams of people who played roles that would prepare them for the real thing. It was not easy. In fact, it was awkward and uncomfortable at best.
Looking back, I believe what made those training sessions and crisis management successful was the preparation. We had the following in place;
Risk Management – We employed rigorous risk classification and mitigation protocols on projects and our enterprise.
Relationships – We knew our customers and suppliers well, inclusive of working with them on the appropriate contracts, scopes, and deliverables.
Team – We had exceptional technical department heads, project managers and business unit leaders.
Training – In addition to a commitment to individual professional development plans, we had group crisis simulations sessions.
Systems – A comprehensive enterprise management system and ISO-9001 certification provided a solid foundation of processes and accountabilities.
These experiences have one common theme: a fantastic team. Processes and procedures are great, but the team is what made the internal processes work. In one instance, we had a large team working on a project which was going to keep them busy for thousands of billable hours. Then the client’s commodity price suddenly dropped, and the project was suspended. We had ten days to demobilize and re-assign over 230 people. We successfully did so with no layoffs because of the quality of the team. The client worked closely with us as well, and the relationship remained strong for years after the suspension.
A business crisis occurs when an unexpected problem puts the stability of a company or organization at risk. Our three-part series will deal with leadership during the crisis and post-crisis.
Without preparation, crisis can permanently damage a business, a project, but even more importantly, people. It requires an imagination to brainstorm all the potential disasters that could befall us. Some challenges can be delegated to project teams, but business leaders must own crisis preparation. I always told my executive team we should imagine ourselves two years from now when someone is assessing our performance long after a crisis is over. We must prepare now so that that our review indicates we truly did everything possible, and were not “interrupt-driven” or constantly putting out fires.
Crisis is inevitable at some scale. Prepare for it.
And now it’s your turn. Please tell us how you prepare for crises. Sharing your stories helps us all as we navigate the unforeseen.
Stay safe, everybody!
~ Gary and the staff at Bosgoed Projects
