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Man the battleships! Whose got the liferaft?

Posted on Apr 12 , 2007 in Crisis Management & Persuasion & PR

It's turmoil. The organization is under attack. The CEO will soon be indicted. All hope is lost. It is your job to fix it. Do you have an emergency crew to turn to?

Why not? You don't want to fail, so who do you turn to in a pitch?

Think about that for a second while I take a fork in the road. I'm writing this post on my BlackBerry because my MacBook is back at the Genius Bar getting a second keyboard installed. But I have a backup plan. I can type with my thumbs while I wait for my new keyboard. I know Brian will take care of me. He's on my technical team. And my BlackBerry's mobile Internet tools allow me to post to my blog from my phone. I'm covered in a pinch. But, I digress.

I count on a select group of friends and leaders whom I can turn to when a crisis befalls me or my organization. They offer advice, focus my efforts and remind me of how I have prepared. These advisors also may be called on to serve as advocates and come to my aid when my message is lost or ignored.

My GoTo List:

Steve G.
Bill G.
Gerry S.
Leslie C.
Gene P.
Kathy H.
Erik P.
Cindy C.

People I'd like to add, but haven't approached yet:

Ike P.
Kami H.
Jay J.
George M.
Mark S.

Who is on your list? It may be only a couple people or dozens, but when your facing a crises these are the people you're going to want in your liferaft.

Go ahead, share your list. I'd like to see it.

  • http://www.twitter.com/conniereece Connie Reece

    Got some great people in my liferaft – don’t know what I’d do without them!

    Laurie R.
    Mark P.
    Ana P.
    Mike C.
    Kelley B.
    Judy R.
    Terry T.

    That’s

  • http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/ Kami Huyse

    Hey, I am almost on your list. Howe nice. :-)

  • http://www.ask-mr.info Michael Sommermeyer

    Kami,

    You probably should just be on the main list for all the times I’ve begged you for help. ;-)

    I wrote this at 4 a.m., and why I was up is beyond logic. Since I’ve re-read the post this morning, I realize there are many more people I rely on for all sorts of different aspects of my career and personal life. And many of those folks have helped when I’ve faced a bad day at work or needed to manage a crisis. It’s good to have friends; I’ll move you up!

    M.

  • http://ike.pigott.name/occam Ike

    Gee Mike – I didn’t know you were already running the bilge pumps and pouring buckets overboard…

    Call a brother!