Crisis life cycle and early warning
Karen Cheah’s 13 September 2022 lecture covers pre-crisis issues management, crisis leadership and management, and post-crisis recovery. A problem can intensify through media scrutiny, operational interference, reputation damage and financial consequences. Examples include product and brand controversies, service incidents and the 1991 SQ117 hijacking, illustrating why readiness matters before publicity escalates.
Pre-crisis readiness
Form a cross-functional team with sufficient authority, train the main spokesperson, maintain contact lists and response protocols, identify physical and virtual meeting points, develop outside support relationships and conduct simulations. Review vulnerabilities, reputation and warning signs regularly, with budget and training for specific roles.
Stakeholders and communication objectives
Identify employees, investors, customers, partners, vendors, media and opinion leaders. Consider their influence, legitimate needs and urgency, rather than sending everyone the same message. Define who needs safety instructions, continuity information, reassurance or a detailed explanation.
Eight response steps
The lecture’s response sequence combines containment, factual information, central coordination, early communication, media engagement, direct stakeholder contact, operations and recovery. Do not speculate, assign blame or promise a quick fix before facts are established.
| Step | Action | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Activate and contain | Mobilise the crisis team, identify the problem, agree response roles and select a spokesperson. |
| 2 | Gather facts | Appoint a coordinator to collate reliable information and track what is not yet known. |
| 3 | Set central command | Use a secure physical or virtual coordination space with working communications. |
| 4 | Communicate early and regularly | Explain known facts, immediate actions, uncertainty and the next update. |
| 5 | Manage media and social channels | Monitor discussion, issue an initial statement and prepare for further questions. |
| 6 | Reach affected groups directly | Tailor practical messages to employees, customers, partners and other audiences. |
| 7 | Maintain viable operations | Arrange cover for crisis-team members and continue safe critical work. |
| 8 | Plan recovery and learning | Review the response and turn lessons into improvements. |
Practice, listening and recovery
Maintain access to trusted sources and social listening; update regular intervals and communicate values through real action. Prepare staff replacements so crisis coordination does not halt essential services. Afterward, examine what worked, repair weaknesses and refresh readiness. Statistical claims shown in teaching slides reflect cited historical studies rather than predictions for an individual company.