Is It Possible to Over-react to a Crisis?

By Roman Diukarev

If a hail stone falls from above, it is nearly always best not to suggest that the sky is falling. First, you will appear rather silly, and secondly, you could, in fact, create a crisis where none previously existed.

However, the most prevalent mistake made by corporations and individuals is to under-estimate the potential for crises. This is a mistake that is often made early and an easily managed issue becomes a more difficult problem and eventually a full-blown crisis.

You see this happening most often in companies that are more crisis prone than crisis prepared. For example, a mining company might have a slag heap that is unsightly but not a danger to life or property under normal circumstances.

The problem, of course, is that Mother Nature breaks the rules of normalcy every year. Think Hurricane Katrina and the levies of New Orleans, or maybe the catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean that caused more than a 100,000 deaths in 2004. 

In our example, a crisis prone company will pray for the rain to stop, merely hoping the situation will resolve itself. By not reacting to a possible crisis, the company has bet its future on the whims of the climate. Bad move.

The crisis prepared company informs authorities of a possible problem at the first stage, and urges nearby residents of a potential danger. If the situation gets worse, the company aids in evacuating people and livestock and moves to protect property, perhaps by strengthening the slag heap.

If the worst occurs, the crisis prepared company already has a plan in place to deal with the situation.

The crisis prone company tends to hold back until all the facts are in before making decisions. The crisis prepared one knows that in a developing crisis all the facts might not be in until it is too late, and considers intelligent options and makes decisions.

Yes, it is possible to over-react to a crisis. However, the far greater sin is not to react quickly enough.