By Katherine Rundell
Believe it or not, anything can happen in late notice; things can happen beyond anyone’s control. But how can people handle a crisis, whether it’s within a company, or within society, etc.?
In this article, we’ll look at the 10 most effective books on crisis management:
- Leadership Crisis Management: Understanding The 3-Stages Of Crisis Management – Mark Villareal
With leadership being the most important aspect of an organization’s success, it has to be taken seriously, especially during a crisis. Mark Villareal’s book explores the many ways that leadership should communicate the desired result, and implement milestone achievements to keep the team motivated and looking forward to those ‘small wins.’
This book understands how some organizations can struggle, or even fall apart, during a crisis. Therefore, it’s expected from leadership to remain strong and prepared, even in tough times (which can happen internally or externally, and or may not be an organization’s fault). And, to be strong and prepared, leadership must have a good foundation to stand on and succeed.
This book also addresses the problems that organizations will face, if they act quickly without thinking, thus displaying poor execution when dealing with a crisis. And although Villareal talks about the three stages of Leadership Crisis Management, many organizations make the mistake of executing all three stages out of order, or skip a stage. And unfortunately, this incompetence may seep into the workforce, as a direct result of it.
Leadership Crisis Management aims to show how leaders can effectively lead, follow, or step out of the way. And, it aims to help build other leaders to fulfill visions and drive company culture. Designed as a high-level overview of the three stages of a crisis, this book allows and challenges all organizational leaders to think and evaluate their business through each of these stages, and to make any improvements when necessary to achieve long-term success.
- Crisis Management: How To Develop A Powerful Program – Regina Phelps
With more frequent natural disasters, workforce violence, and cyberattacks in the recent years, businesses and governments worldwide are scrambling to prevent, or (at least) be ready for another crisis like these. Regina Phelps’ Crisis Management attempts to explain how organizations can prepare for such events step-by-step, while providing the good news that costs are inexpensive when prepared, versus having to pay so much money after an unforeseen crisis.
This book covers preparation (going into the nitty-gritty), and then having the entire organization practice readiness anytime, anywhere.
- Cultural Competency For Emergency And Crisis Management: Concepts, Theories And Case Studies – Claire Connolly Knox And Brittany “Brie” Haupt
Editors Claire Connolly Knox and Brittany “Brie” Haupt explain that disasters are so complex and dynamic, that they test the patience and intellect of emergency personnel, crisis professionals, and leaders everywhere. This book understands that with diversity in mind, it can be hard to know where to start, when it comes to tackling a crisis, especially when people look to you for solutions.
Cultural Competency for Emergency and Crisis Management is an essential guide on what makes teaching effective in crisis management, and possesses the following features, which act as a roadmap for successfully incorporating cultural competency during a crisis:
- A deep understanding of cultural competence
- Expert authorities that offer fresh perspective in various aspects of emergency and crisis management
- Case studies covering national and international emergency and crisis management, complete with ground rules, a scenario, roles/actors, guiding questions, facilitator questions, and resources
- Pedagogy and andragogy theories
- Pre- and post-tests from each case study, designed for faculty and trainers
- Ways to create a group discussion, group assignment, or individual assignment on crisis management
- Crisis Management Leadership: Training To Survive The Critical Moment – Kenneth A. Lipshy, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Need crisis management advice on the go? The Crisis Management Leadership training field guide has you covered! As such, this book has multiple avenues of learning about crisis management:
- First-hand experiences and interviews from military and firefighting leaders, scientific research and multiple other sources
- Multiple scenarios of crisis management documented
- 100 pages with well over 50 figures and tables
“With so much material to cover in this book, Crisis Management Leadership is an essential guide for quick and easy references to all too common but frightening events encountered almost anywhere, with key messages highlighted from beginning to end,” says Brooke Real, a business writer at PaperFellows and Boomessays.
- The Power Of Resilience: How The Best Companies Manage The Unexpected – Yossi Sheffi
With cyberattacks more common throughout the recent years, even the most successful companies must prep for such risks by developing corporate resilience. From natural disasters, to union strikes halting production, to a new digital device jeopardizing the sales and financial health of its competitors, crises can come in all shapes and sizes, meaning that the global economy can encounter one that can affect both companies and consumers.
The Power of Resilence shows why corporate resilience and risk management have to be incorporated, when it comes to modern vulnerabilities. From fascinating case studies that show how companies prepare for and cope with a crisis, to the amazing aftermath that had them coming out stronger than before, this book talks about supply chain risk management, and how it’s a balancing act between taking on the risks from new products, new markets, and new processes―and the resilience created by this type of risk management.
- Public Relations Crisis Communication: A New Model – Lisa Anderson-Meli And Swapna Koshy
Public Relations Crisis Communication asks the following questions:
- What is a public relations crisis?
- How does one describe the nature of public relations during a crisis?
- How does one put a PR crisis into context?
The book also examines what makes a PR crisis a crisis, and how it relates to the current communication sphere by investigating the following:
- Existing group communication theories on organizational culture, critical theory of organizations, media ecology, public rhetoric, and cross-cultural communication theory
- Incorporating such theories based on their relevance in the context of the new model of public relations crisis
- A case study of Malaysia Airlines MH370, involving a textual analyses of press communications on the company’s website
Therefore, it’s a good read for all students, teachers, researchers, and practitioners of public relations, communication, media and marketing.
- The Indestructible Brand: Crisis Management In The Age Of Social Media – Venke Sharma And Hushidar Kharas
As more and more brands utilize social media – or should be – many of them are probably not prepared, when it comes to dealing with negative feedback. Ignoring such feedback can be detrimental to your brand.
Therefore, The Indestructable Brand aims to help brand and business owners structure organizations into crisis-ready ones by teaching them the following concepts:
- Creating a crisis squad and playbook
- Evaluating various possible scenarios
- The do’s and don’ts of how brands should respond to a crisis
- Collaborative Crisis Management: Inter-Organizational Approaches To Extreme Events – Fredrik Bynander And Daniel Nohrstedt
Editors Fredrik Bynander and Daniel Nohrstedt explore how public organizations are expected to cope with crisis under resource constraints and mandates that also make up their normal routine in Collaborative Crisis Management. This book shows how collaboration shapes societies’ capacity to plan for, respond to, and recover from extreme and unforeseen events with the use and emphasis on five conceptual dimensions.
With advice compiled from experienced teachers and scholars, as well as other insights on collaborative practices, readers can determine the outcomes of complex inter-organizational challenges across cases derived from various problem areas, administrative cultures, and national systems, making collaboration ideal for solving and preventing another crisis (or being ready for crises, such as natural disasters).
- Technology Run Amok: Crisis Management In The Digital Age – Ian I. Mitroff
“With the recent controversy of Facebook, with its business model of selling user data to third parties, source say that the social media giant was unprepared to face any backlash that resulted in the controversy,” says Madeleine Donald, a Crisis Management expert at Australiahelp and State Of Writing. “And, to make matters worse, Facebook was reactionary, rather than proactive in addressing such a crisis. In Technology Run Amok, Mitroff explains how failure to manage technology can result in negative consequences, as he argues that the ‘technological mindset’ is responsible for how society obsesses over technology, and how this obsession left unchecked can turn into a tech crisis.”
- The Art Of Crisis Leadership: Save Time, Money, Customers And Ultimately, Your Career – Rob Weinhold
With the world being more turbulent than years prior, people are now asking, “When will the next crisis occur?” (Note that it’s not “if” a crisis may occur, but “when.”) The Art of Crisis Leadership aims to answer that question.
Rob Weinhold showcases this truism: “the strengths and shortcomings of leaders are never more magnified than during life’s most difficult times.” Having decades of experience on the core executive teams of the Baltimore Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice, and for Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., Weinhold currently holds the title of chief executive of the highly-respected Fallston Group, a Baltimore-based crisis management & communications firm that strives to guide the world’s next leaders. And, he’s a well-known crisis leadership expert that has appeared on various news outlets and shows.
In this book, Weinhold shares the secrets of how to survive, and then thrive, whenever a crisis prevails. He also tells the stories of real people and companies that have been beset by:
- Social media attacks
- Sex scandals
- Financial troubles
- Civic riots
- Active shootings
- Data breaches
- Natural disasters
- Other calamities
Through these stories, Weinhold intends to offer effective advice that can help leaders remain steadfast, focused and resilient, the next time a crisis occurs.
Conclusion
Since a crisis can happen anytime, anywhere, it’s now more important than ever to stay vigilant, regardless if you’re a leader, an employee, or someone else for that matter. Many of these selections are available at online retailers like Amazon, or at a bookstore near you.
Katherine Rundell writes and edits at Coursework Help and Write my research paper services. She also freelances for Essay Writer. As a professional writer, she writes about informative topics like crisis management.
