My morning New York Times alert reads about the state of New York taking over Nassau County’s finances after months of ominous warnings. The county may sue to block the takeover by the state.
This is certainly a crisis for the county and it’s customers (the taxpayers). They may find lawsuits being flung their way. This is a crisis that affects their liability, human resources, income, and reputation. Makes you wonder what strategy the leaders had in going in to a situation. It should also be a case study for you and your business on proper planning, implementation, and response.
In any crisis, there is always an initial threat (county in the hole a cool $350M); a warning (the state is going to do a takeover); an event (today’s takeover); a response and an impact (waiting). How they respond will ultimately produce an impact, either bad or good. There is a lot at stake for this entity, even though it is a government. Loss of reputation, potential lawsuits, and morale of the taxpayers is at stake, as are many jobs.
What crisis can you imagine that might touch you in similar ways? You may not soon be in danger of being taken over by the state of New York, however issues related to bankruptcy due to a catastrophic event is always a possibility for any organization regardless of size. It behooves you to proactively plan, implement, and practice situations that could threaten your very survival.
© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
