Managing urgent situations

Urgent situations arise but go unnoticed. There are many important things to do in a company, many safeguards to put in place, procedures to observe, and financial information to provide to shareholders. There are often so many different ‘signals’ that one barely has the time to notice the slightest warning signs of a coming storm. It is only when the storm waves start to break and threaten to overwhelm the company that sometimes the alarm sounds. If it is not already too late, someone has to take the helm, give the orders, set a course, and reassure the crew. Companies are like boats : in dangerous stretches of water, the captain – or CEO – has to rely on a skipper who can cope under severe weather conditions, and is aware of the major hazards and obstacles. Are these transition managers adventurers ? Listening to them, one might think so…