Remain The Picture Of Calm Through Any Business Disaster With These Top Tips

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As a business owner, you’re probably adept at staying calm in stressful situations. You can stand in front of a room filled with high-end individuals and not even break a sweat. Deadlines? Not a problem, you always meet them with time to spare. But would you remain quite that calm if you came into work one day to discover that some sort of crisis had hit?

From natural disasters to cybercrime-related downtime, companies face a surprising amount of risks every single day. And, each of them could see the calmest manager becoming a picture of pure panic.

Unfortunately, a panicked boss can’t solve anything. That’s why we’ve got some top tips for bringing that practiced boardroom calm with you into a crisis environment. 

# 1 - Know Your Recovery Plan

You probably feel calm walking into meetings because you’ve planned precisely what you’re intending to say. So, why not bring that same certainty to business disasters by putting a recovery plan in place?

Most obviously, your recovery plan should include recovery point and recovery time objectives. It can also be useful to put backup systems in place, which could include having a backup generator on-site, or keeping the contact details for fuel tank rental and other essentials to keep things running even if your basic infrastructure has gone down.

You should also implement clear recovery and communication protocols, which will save that immediate ‘what do I do now?’ panic, and will allow you to get right to work when you’re needed the most.

# 2 - Lean on the Expertise of Your Team

As a manager, it’s natural to take a business crisis on your shoulders. You should certainly put yourself at the forefront and become a visible face for your team to turn to. But you also shouldn’t make the mistake of ignoring the special, potentially relevant skills that your employees might possess.

After all, every member of your team will have different certifications that made them stand out when you were hiring. These skills, which might include anything from cybersecurity training that helps in case of breaches, to IT specializations that can address issues with in-house tech, could be exactly the help you need. So think about who’s on your team, what they can do, and how that’s relevant here. 

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# 3 - Build on Honesty With Your Customers

Businesses are taking steps to build more honest relationships with their customers than ever before, and building on that foundation can also help you to stay calm in a crisis. After all, while most customers will get annoyed if your website is down without explanation, they probably won’t feel that same anger if you update your socials in real-time to explain what’s happened.

These updates, and the ongoing communications you can retain around them, will buy you much-needed time to address the issue, without worrying that it’s going to cost your reputation as well as everything else.

If you want to keep a calm head in whatever crisis you’re facing, then don’t hesitate to implement these top tips. They could well save your mind and your business!