Crisis Leadership: Planning for the Unthinkable

From product defects to environmental disasters—almost every day a new corporate crisis hits the headlines. In the majority of cases the results are disastrous: costly and time-consuming efforts to establish a positive public image can be wiped out in seconds. The inadequate, and often damaging, response of American business to such adversity proves that we don’t need better crisis management—we need crisis leadership. Ian Mitroff offers a new proactive approach that focuses on doing everything humanly possible to prevent crisis before they happen, rather than merely putting the best possible spin on the aftermath. In easy-to-read, accessible language, Mitroff presents the critical, key lessons that will help managers lead the organization through a major crisis.

Dr. Ian I. Mitroff is currently the Harold Quinton Distinguished Professor of Business Policy at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. He is also the Director of the USC Center for Strategic Public Relations and a Professor of Journalism in the Annenberg School of Communications at USC. Dr. Mitroff founded Comprehensive Crisis Management, Inc., which has consulted some of the nation’s leading companies on a broad array of crises. He has also published over three hundred articles and more than twenty-three books.