Effective Preparedness Requires Vigilant Crisis Reconnaissance
1/7/25 – – The most dreaded phrase in crisis management is, “We didn’t see that coming.” With people returning to work after the holidays, now is a good time to avoid that fate by assessing the reputational threats on the horizon in 2025.
I’m convinced after four decades of dealing with corporate crises that the vast majority are preventable, if you see them coming. The challenge is knowing where to look. That’s why crises reconnaissance – – looking into the future and around corners – – must be a central part of any crisis plan.
In Chapter 3 of “The Crisis Preparedness Quotient” I suggest focusing your ongoing reconnaissance on what I believe are the nine most common sources from which survival-threatening situations spring: People, Products, Priorities, Policies, Performance, Politics, Procrastination, Privacy and Past. Leadership teams should periodically have an honest discussion about each, asking, “What makes us vulnerable to a crisis in this area and how can we take action to minimize that risk?”
Six Predictable Risks on the Horizon in 2025
To sharpen your focus on the year ahead, consider adding special attention to the sources of opportunity and risk sure to define the operational environment in 2025. Here are a half dozen important enough to be known by their initials:
AI – – Artificial intelligence will continue to generate enthusiasm and dread.
What impact will this accelerating technology have on your company, its employees, investors and customers? Are your AI goals clearly defined and aligned with your purpose and culture?
DEI – – Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs are certain to remain controversial.
Last year we saw a cascading list of companies, colleges and organizations retreat from their DEI commitments, including Walmart, Ford, University of Michigan, McDonald’s, and Molson Coors. Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck will be looking for more targets. Are you confident that your programs appropriately advance these bedrock organizational priorities? Are you prepared to defend them with internal and external audiences?
ESG – – Environment, Social and Governance measures of a company’s non-financial performance have been under fire for several years.
Investors, including red state investment funds, will be keeping the heat on this year, emboldened by the new administration in Washington. Where do you stand on these important priorities? Are you confident in and prepared to communicate your position?
MAGA – – Make America Great Again has become a lot more than a campaign slogan. It’s a leadership and legislative agenda that will impact every company and organization in 2025.
Efforts to get into lockstep with MAGA have created improbable alliances. Yesterday Meta (formerly Facebook) announced that Dana White, president and CEO of Unlimited Fighting Championship and a close buddy of Donald Trump, has joined its board of directors. CEOs of every political stripe are making pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago. What parts of the MAGA agenda do you welcome? What parts are counter to your principles and threaten your success? Will you be outspoken on political issues in this new environment?
DOGE – – The newly created Department of Government Efficiency, to be headed by Elon Musk, will be examining every aspect of government spending and administration.
Their goal is to trim trillions of dollars from the federal budget. How could these efforts impact your company and industry? Is there a role for you to play in informing the work of the department, or will you be a bystander?
MAHA – – Make America Healthy Again, part of the MAGA agenda, will be overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he is confirmed by the Senate to be head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Among the agencies under HHS control are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health. Given RFK Jr’s controversial stands on such issues as vaccines, prescription drug advertising, pandemic preparedness, and food additives, companies in many industries must be prepared for turbulence and change. (Suggestion: WK Kellogg Co. may want to get out ahead of things and remove the chemical food dyes from its Froot Loops cereal, as they already have in Canada.)
“You Can Never Have Too Much Reconnaissance” General George S. Patton
Throughout military history, reconnaissance teams have been essential to battlefield victories. Soldiers with spyglasses stationed in trees have been replaced by drones and satellites. But the objective remains the same: Be prepared for what’s coming our way.
Much like warfare, corporate crisis preparedness requires the ability to know where to look for the threats ahead. Structure your 2025 reconnaissance around the events and trends sure to shape this year’s business and social environment for your company. Then you’ll never have to say, “We didn’t see that coming.”
Crisis Quotient Blog 