ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1. What are the worst things you can imagine happening to the company? Why?

2. What are the most likely crises that could occur at the company in each of the following areas:

• Plants and equipment?
• Financial?
• Employee relations?
• Management?
• Government and regulatory affairs?
• Protests/espionage/terrorism
• Other (Name)

3. If a crises were to occur today, what are the procedures, as you understand them, to deal with:

• Authorities/emergency services/disaster relief?
• Government officials?
• Regulatory agencies?
• The media?
• The community surrounding a facility of the company?
• The medical community/other customers?
• Consumers?
• Employees?

4. Is the company (the managers) prepared to respond to each of these constituencies?

5. What are the company’s policies (written or stated) for dealing with these constituencies in a crisis?

6. What is the biggest crisis you have personally dealt with in the last few years.

• How did you first lean of the crisis?
• What actions did you take?
• Was a crisis team established?
• Who handled the media, employees, etc.?
• How did customers and other audiences respond?
• How would you rate the company’s response?
• Have any changes been made in procedures as a result?

7. In that crisis, did you refer to a crisis management manual, if one existed? If so:

• For what information?
• Was it there?
• Was the manual useful overall?
• How could the manual have been easier to use?

8. If you did not refer to the manual, why not?

9. If a serious crisis were to occur today, who are the five people within the company who are best equipped to handle it? Why?

10. What industry issues or trends most concern you?