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John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, had many famous quotes as part of his pyramid of success.  One of my favorites is “Be quick but don’t hurry.”  The quote means (1) do the right things, (2) learn to do them quickly, but (3) never be out of control.  This quote also has application for project managers facing a crisis.

As project managers, we all recognize basic issue management versus crisis moments.  They are the moments that result in sudden flop sweat, the feeling of a thumb pressing against the temple, the crowd of executives lined up at your door expecting action – now.  There is a tremendous urge to make promises and take action – any action – as long as it appears to be progress.  Don’t do it.  Do not give in to pressure to do the wrong thing in a hurry.  Instead:

• Identify stakeholders who need to receive updates (internal and external)
• Clearly state “I’m on this and I understand the urgency of the situation”
• Place yourself as the single point of contact, serving as the liaison between the stakeholders and problem solving team
• Provide a schedule for regular status updates (may be hourly, daily, etc., depending on issue)
• Until resolution, provide status updates in a consistent format / agenda (email and/or conference calls)
• Within status updates, succinctly describe the issue, business impact and resolution progress
• Ensure problem solving team has the needed resources and their schedule is clear to focus on resolution
• Unless it’s obvious, understanding the root cause as to why something happened is secondary to fixing the immediate problem
• After resolution of the issue, schedule, document and communicate root cause analysis findings
• Follow through on root cause recommendations to ensure the issue does not return

Crisis management is a leadership challenge for project managers.  Demonstrate (quickly) that you have a solid plan, are working the plan with a sense of urgency while over communicating to internal and external stakeholders.  Done well, it will provide confidence to stakeholders and allows the issue to be resolved accurately.

Filed under Discerning e-Discovery.

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