Worksheet for Preventing Avoidable Crises

INSTRUCTIONS

Some crises are avoidable. The best way to prevent them is to anticipate and take action to stop them.
Use this worksheet to assess your systems and resources, scan your business environment for warning
signs, and recognize any “near misses."

Assess Your Resources

Make sure all your resources and systems are in order.

1. Technology. What do you need to do to make sure your computers and other systems are up-to-date?
Are there any vulnerabilities, such as limited capacity, that you need to address before a breakdown
precipitates a crisis?

2. Key skills. Are you sufficiently staffed to prevent a shortage of key skills during high-pressure times?
For example, what contract renewals might you need to negotiate?

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3. Personnel transitions. Do you have a clear plan for qualified people to succeed key personnel should
they suddenly leave or be unable to do their jobs?

4. Interpersonal conflicts. Are there any serious interpersonal problems you need to confront before they
escalate?

5. Finances. Are all your crucial projects fully funded? Are you in a sound financial position to weather a
crisis?

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© 2014 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School
Scan Your Environment
Monitor your business environment for developments inside and outside your organization that could signal
a greater vulnerability to crises.

Ask yourself questions such as:

 Is your industry experiencing rapid technological advancement?

 Is your group instituting a new business process?

 Are your group’s profits or market share declining?

 Do your operations depend on just one or two major suppliers?

 Do most of your business revenues come from a small number of major customers?

 Do your business activities have the potential to harm the environment? Or to affect the health
or safety of people?

 Do you have operations in a politically or socially unstable region? Or in a location that’s

vulnerable to natural disasters?

6. Vulnerabilities. After reviewing the above questions, what are your group's potential vulnerabilities?

Watch For “Near Misses”

Most business failures are preceded by multiple "near misses"—accidents narrowly avoided or minor
failures that caused no immediate harm. Don't let overconfidence blind you to the dangers of near misses;
seemingly harmless events can turn into major crises.

Ask yourself questions such as:

 Is your group under pressure to meet tight schedules, cost-reduction mandates, or production
targets? Do you notice feelings of high pressure? If your group had more time and resources,
would they be making different decisions?

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© 2014 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School
  Are there any deviations from the norm in your group’s operations? If so, what are the
associated risks? Has your group grown increasingly comfortable with this higher level of risk?

 Under pressure, is your group attempting to correct the symptom of an operational deviation,
rather than identifying and fixing the root causes?

 Have you or others described near misses as successes because “nothing terrible happened”?

7. Near misses. After reviewing the above questions, identify any near misses that you and your group
might have overlooked.

8. Worst-case scenarios. What are the possible negative consequences of these near misses that, if
ignored, could become major crises? What are your worst-case scenarios?

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© 2014 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School