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When tragedy strikes

Do you really know how you'll react to a crisis?

2 min read

Management

Crisis

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When crisis strikes, will you be ready?

That is a question that every senior leader asks regularly. We like to think that we can be prepared when disaster or tragedy strikes, but will we be?

One such person who reflected on what it was like to face tragedy not once but twice was C.J. Price, a hospital administrator at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. On Nov. 27, 1963, he put down his thoughts in a memo about what it was like to have the eyes of the world on his hospital after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and killing of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Not only must you be prepared, you must identify people who will respond well in a crisis. Look for individuals who are studious not rash, practiced not sloppy, and — most of all — self-assured and not wild-eyed.

The thing about a crisis is you never know when to expect them. The only thing for which you can prepare is have the right people with the right plan in place.

John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach. In 2018, Trust Across America honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Trust. Also in 2018, Inc.com named Baldoni a Top 100 Leadership Speaker. Global Gurus ranked him No. 22 on its list of top 30 global experts, a list he has been on since 2007. In 2014, Inc.com named Baldoni to its list of top 50 leadership experts. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including his newest, “MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership.”

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