Field notes on leading when the plan collapses.
Essays on crisis leadership, decision-making under pressure, and the disciplines that hold up from the boardroom to the kitchen table.
How to Handle a Crisis Situation: A Field-Tested Sequence
Most people freeze in the first ninety seconds of a crisis. Not because they lack courage — because nobody ever gave them a sequence. Here is the one I have used since 1996.
Read the essay →What Is Crisis Leadership? (And How It Differs From Management)
Crisis management is a discipline of systems. Crisis leadership is a discipline of judgment. Confusing the two is why capable organizations still fail on their worst day.
Read the essay →The Crisis Management Skills That Actually Transfer
The skills that saved a response operation at JFK are the same ones that save a board meeting, a negotiation, or a family in a hospital corridor. Here is the transferable set.
Read the essay →Decision-Making Under Pressure: What the Room Needs From You
Pressure does not change what a good decision is. It changes how much of the process you can afford. Here is what to keep and what to cut.
Read the essay →Every essay here is drawn from the book.