Crisis Mode

1. When do we shift to this mode?
   1. When there is a challenge which has the potential to de-rail the project
      • When catching up on failures, slip ups
      • When there are sudden unplanned business needs
      • When acts of God take place (e.g. cyclone)
      • When there is a problem and the cause is not known
      • Big accident leading to loss of huge money/ time
        (e.g. gas holder blast)
      • Major compliance failures
   2. In a Crisis Mode, it is a high stakes environment
      • Loss of life
      • Loss of revenue
      • Losing many months on the project timeline
      • Loss of trust/ face in stakeholder ecosystem
      • Loss of license
   3. Goal should be to bring this mode to ZERO for the following reasons:
      • It draws huge amounts of energy
      • Quality/ safety/ cost suffers as you are trying to beat time
      • Process becomes casualty, gets compromised – this can increase risks

2. What kind of work methods are to be used for this mode?
   • Micro Management – Leader should be hyper-engaged on a minute to minute basis
   • Continuous communication – Have all the information and review continuously
   • Use Crisis Management Protocol: E.g. Triage – get vital functions operational, segregate issues into layers.

Example 1 – In an OPD when there is an accident, they follow a protocol. First they check – is there bleeding, is the heart okay? – they get the vital functions operational. Second, they will do some basic checks – like if the head is hurt, then do an MRI scan, and so on.

Example 2 – If there is a fire – i)  you will save the man before the material, ii) Then you will stop the fire from spreading, iii) You will douse the fire, iv) You will save the material, v) Then you will diagnose the problem.

There has to be a protocol for crisis mode. We must take 5-6 types of crisis and figure out the protocols for them.

3. What are expectations of a leader in this mode?
   • Ability to stay cool and not panic
   • Stay on top of things proactively
   • Purpose before ego (not authoritarian)
   • Need to be firm in decision making and yet be open to answers from anywhere (should be respected by
   • team)History of solving crises / problem solving in similar field
   • Stand by the team and your decisions
   • Needs high credibility with senior management

4. What kind of team members do you need?
   • Experts in the field who are troubleshooters
   • Highly Committed Go-getters
   • People who can do real-time, on the field problem solving
   • Quick learners
   • Team members should not panic in the face of the crisis

5. What kind of environment should we create?
   • Quick Response Team
   • High trust for the purpose (to get the job done)
   • High team-work environment & encouragement
   • Total commitment (100%) needed from all team members – you can’t have people who want to operate in a 9-5 approach to their work during a crisis mode

6. What kind of measures & milestones do you have?

• Mode Measures:
  • Has the crisis been defused?
  • Did it follow crisis protocol?
  • Is there any collateral damage or cost? (i.e. no other crisis caused in the process of diffusing this crisis)
  • Is there an cost on relationships with stakeholders?
  • Averting potential future crises

7. Risks
   • Saps energy
   • Quality/ safety/ cost suffers as you are trying to beat time
   • Process becomes casualty, get compromised

Target should be to bring down this mode to ZERO.