A quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower has been on my mind
While the specific plans we make may not be perfectly suitable for
In recent times, I've witnessed multiple instances of friends, family, customers and thousands of businesses having to quickly move to contingency plans.
Living along the Gulf Coast for most of my life, contingency planning is a way of life. The threat of hurricanes is nothing new. And yet, I've witnessed the same phenomenon over a few decades.
In the aftermath of a storm of any impact, most folks assess their situation, stock up on supplies and become mentally and physically prepared for the impact of another storm.
From families to small and large businesses, people become keenly aware that the status quo doesn't always hold. The availability of products, services and processes that most never give a second thought to on a regular basis suddenly takes on emergency status.
No two storms are identical, and there is no way to perfectly predict the impact, but immediately following a crisis, people take contingency planning more seriously.
In the recent case of Hurricane Beryl, many in my home area of Houston were not as prepared as they might have been because we hadn't taken a direct hit in years. Forecasts had it taking a different path, and it was "only" a Category 1 storm.
However, the damage and lingering disruption have far exceeded most expectations.
The fallout and public outrage from a seeming lack of preparedness by the major electric utility, coupled with abysmal communication efforts with customers, have even led to promises of increased government oversight of the company.
And as ready as most are right now for another storm, if we are not impacted again this season, many folks will fall back into a state of unpreparedness for the next one.
Emergency supplies dwindle and aren't replaced. Generators aren't maintained.
Preparation plans are forgotten. As the crisis subsides, so does our attention.
The recent "Blue Screen of Death" chaos caused by the faulty CrowdStrike update hit thousands of companies worldwide like a figurative Category 5 hurricane.
Customer reports of technical issues with many U.S. banks have spiked as a buggy software update from CrowdStrike disrupts multiple sectors.
Many of the senior managers I spoke with in the aftermath were astonished at how such an event was even possible.
Sure, an event like that is something that gets bandied about in certain meetings of the departments tasked with avoiding those kinds of upheavals. But it's all hypothetical … until it's not.
There is no doubt that bank leaders around the world are right now more focused than ever on contingency plans and backup preparations for a similar disruption to the system. The fact that such an event occurred and impacted so many highlights how truly unforeseen some crises can be.
Undoubtedly, some businesses were better positioned to recover than others. However, even more certain is the increased attention leaders should now give to contingency planning.
Of particular importance after such an event is gathering feedback from everyone, from senior leaders to the rank and file in the field, on what worked well and what didn't during the crisis.
What were the biggest challenges? How did customers respond? What might be learned for next time? Best practices can often only be identified, verified or adapted in the aftermath of a crisis.
One of the senior bankers I spoke with joked that he was tempted to hire a conspiracy theorist and doomsday scenario kind of person for his staff.
He said, "If you had told me that half the business world would be in chaos because of a goof-up by a company I never heard of, I would have called you paranoid. Now, I think I need more paranoid people."
After chuckling a bit, I reminded him that customers tend to form their strongest opinions of us based on how we handle problems and communicate with them when things go wrong.
Whether the problem is their fault or ours, the speed and way we address it, and the way we make them feel, are paramount. Customer trust is either reinforced or eroded during those crucial interactions.
Attuned leaders also realize the importance of timely communications, instructions and support to their teams when a crisis arises.
Comprehensive communication plans are a vital part of any business continuity or disaster response plans.
Recent events should provide as good a reminder as imaginable for bank leaders to recurrently evaluate how ready their teams are for when the next crisis hits from "out of the blue."
