Howard Safir Advises Executives on "Planning for Crisis" at AMA Forum

Howard Safir, former New York City Police and Fire Commissioner, offered insights into "Planning for Crisis" at AMA's Current Issues Breakfast Briefing on September 18, 2003. Now chairman and CEO of the security consultancy SafirRosetti, he identified the steps every business must take to ensure the safety of its employees and the continuity of its core functions.

Referring to AMA's 2002 Crisis Management Survey, Safir agreed that more U.S. companies have crisis management plans in place today than they did one year ago but, he added, many of these plans look impressive on paper and don't have a lot of depth to them. Safir added, "Even the best crisis management plan is useless unless upper management publicly and whole-heartedly supports the plan, providing comprehensive, appropriate, ongoing training to each and every employee.".

What are the major threats to businesses today? Although most businesses are not themselves terrorist targets, says Safir, every business is vulnerable to interruptions or delays stemming from any incident that impacts:

1. The electricity grid
2. The Internet
3. Communication capabilities
4. Transportation networks

He used the August 2003 blackout as a case study, pointing out that an estimated 50 million people and over 76% of U.S. companies were affected. Heavily impacted industries included the airlines--already in deep financial trouble--automakers, telecommunications companies and ground shippers. Cell service was down, computer capability was crippled and employees had limited access to public transportation. In the case of a terrorist attack aimed at U.S. interests at home or abroad, businesses would have faced collateral damage from increased risks to employees who were traveling and delays due to additional security checks, heightened anxiety and increased incidence of bomb threats and crank calls.

Convincing management to make the necessary investment in crisis planning isn't easy, especially in today's economy, Safir admitted, but he added, "Before 9/11, contingency planning was like selling a raincoat on a sunny day. But when it starts raining, everybody wants a raincoat."

Safir stressed, "You don't do crisis management planning for what has happened but for what could happen." He urged all executives to ask themselves, "How will my company respond during a crisis? How will it handle the needs of employees, customers and business partners?" All of these needs can be met through careful planning, said Safir. He encouraged businesses to "plan for any number of different crisis scenarios. Communicate that plan to your senior management team, HR and IT people and to all of your employees. Train to the plan. And when you're done, train to it again."

Click here for a summary of AMA's 2003 Crisis Management Survey.

If you would like to learn more about how your business can prepare for a crisis, consider this AMA seminar: Disaster Recovery Planning: Insuring Business Continuity