5 crisis management lessons from flight mh370 intelligent travel
DESCRIPTION
http://intelligenttravel.com.au/emergency/5-crisis-management-lessons-flight-mh370 Incidents and events surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have been complex and varied. How the crisis has been managed provides some very clear lessons for crisis leadership and crisis management development for other businesses and executive managers. We have been monitoring the incident and it’s impact from the beginning, along with providing updated analysis and advice. Here are our 5 top crisis management lessons from flight MH370 based on the data collected and input from our expert crisis team. Remember, we qualify a crisis as “an unplanned incident or several simultaneous incidents that significantly affect a business”. Ordinarily this event would have been coordinated by “incident management” or “priority management” teams as there would have been effective teams, plans and preparations for this scenario as a plausible outcome of operating an international airline. As we see this as lacking or ineffective, we qualify this event as a crisis.TRANSCRIPT
Previous
5 Crisis Management Lessons
From Flight MH370
Incidents and events surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 havebeen complex and varied How the crisis has been managed provides some very clearlessons for crisis leadership and crisis management development for other businesses andexecutive managers
We have been monitoring the incident and itrsquos impact from the beginning along withproviding updated analysis and advice Here are our 5 top crisis management lessons fromflight MH370 based on the data collected and input from our expert crisis team
Remember we qualify a crisis as ldquoan unplanned incident or several simultaneous incidentsthat significantly affect a businessrdquo Ordinarily this event would have been coordinated byldquoincident managementrdquo or ldquopriority managementrdquo teams as there would have been effectiveteams plans and preparations for this scenario as a plausible outcome of operating aninternational airline As we see this as lacking or ineffective we qualify this event as a crisis
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See Also The Sinister Scary Impact of Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH370
1 Ownership amp Authority
Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian Government are not one in the same One is thecommercial provider of services and the operator of flight MH370 the other is the countryrsquosgovernment and origin for this nationalflag carrier One should be the focal point for allcommunications and engagement with stakeholders the other is a stakeholder Thisdelineation has not been maintained clear or preserved throughout the incident with eachentity communicating over the top of each other or their views and comments causing issuefor the other The net result is that both entities have suffered due to a lack of clearownership of the issue and defined authority on who does what and when
This issue should have been quickly identified and managed throughout the course of theincident While it may not have resolved the overwhelming negative to neutral sentimentaround the handling of the incident modifiers and better crisis leadership measures couldhave been implemented
It should be clear to all stakeholders including the media who is responsible and in chargeof a crisis or significant incident such as this and that status should be maintained throughoutunless there is very good reason to alter this status and that too much be clearly andconsistently communicated
Sentiment Analysis Flight MH370
2 Scenario Mapping
Numerous scenarios interests and issues can arise from any critical incident or crisis It isimportant to map all the likely and plausible events and develop counter plans andcommunications for each of these scenarios A failure to do so means you are constantlychasing the lead issue and responding to opinion or developing topics This is whathappened with flight MH370 Each time there was a wild or relatively accurate assumptionstory or claim the focus of the crisis management response was to follow and counteract the
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issue not lead and plan in advance By not having these complete scenarios in advance ithas resulted more in ldquocrisis pursuitrdquo than leadership and management
Some of the key scenarios and counter plans should have included acts of terror coursedeviation plausible causes popular myths technical facts inter-country collaboration etc
Topic Trends Flight MH370
3 Public Education
Despite the publicrsquos opinion or awareness that aviation is now a rather simple andstraightforward affair it is simply not the case Therefore there is a lot of education andtechnical communications that needs to be presented to the public in order for them tounderstand the specific answer or appreciate why things are not instantaneous Including justhow many stakeholders are involved in even the most simple of events perceived eventswhen it comes to flying across multiple countries and travelling thousands of kilometres in asingle flight This wasnrsquot done effectively Too much speculation or education [both accurateand inaccurate] was left to the public forums and media outlets to educate and dominate theconversation leading to even more questions and response requirements for those handlingthe crisis
Breakdown the message separate technical data and education from the updates andinformation of the event Pre-prepare many of these elements in advance and use themwhenwhere relevant Donrsquot just talk about the actions and plans without explaining someof the technical limitations or issues that affect the decision or success of the plan Assumenothing Educate inform and empathise in unison
4 Endurance
It is surprisingly shocking how ill prepared businesses or crisis management teams are for aprotracted event Crisis events may last for days weeks or months before returning tosomething close to the tempo experienced prior to the event Some businesses meet theirend as a result of a poorly managed crisis or simply lsquolimprsquo along in a greatly diminished
capacity post incident While there was a lot of activity and response in the initial hours anddays of the incident the ability to maintain the tempo required faltered very quickly Keyappointments information updates points of contact and many other elements of the crisisresponse were intermittent in their availability or contribution allowing for massivelysignificant third party influence in their absence This in turn resulted in having to managethat influence and respond to non-scheduled issues which in turn consumed the time andresources of the crisis team when they did again surface
Gone are the days where you can force a single press conference or scheduled informationupdate to all interested and affected parties It is a 247 global news environment now andhas been over over a decade
There are many more channels in which an effective crisis leadership response much engageand communicate via in the modern era
Immediately plan for sustained engagement and prolonged activity at the outset of a lsquocrisisrsquoYou can always stand down resources or scale back but surging in fits and starts yields poorresults and will not contribute to a successful outcome People need to eat sleep and restbut your priority management systems can not be permitted to do so
Primary Media Sources Flight MH370
5 Objective Analysis
A very very small percentage of the audience interested in flight MH370 originated fromMalaysia Most of the interest pressure and news coverage originated from outside ofMalaysia This key stakeholder group needed to be better catered for not only due to theirinterest but also the influence they had on the rest of the world and families affected
Step away from cultural norms and internally accepted practices and consider the demandand impact from the perspective of objective and third party influences if necessaryObjectively evaluate your performance and results through the eyes of those you need mustor want to influence This includes victims families and directly affected stakeholders notjust the media
Schedule information and communication updates to correspond with key timezones and
Share This Story Choose Your Platform
About the Author Intelligent Travel
peak periods in your stakeholder locations ie news updates that might be late at night or
early morning for you but morning afternoon and evening news update periods for yourbiggest or most influential audience
Top Country Interest Flight MH370
Our sympathies and condolences to the families and victims of flight MH370 IntelligentTravel
Tony Ridley CEO Intelligent Travel
We inform and educate travellers on the specific threats and hazardsassociated with a particular itinerary or destination Next we evaluate thepreparedness treatment solutions or modifiers established by the travelleror companyrsquos risk management team Finally we provide risk management
advice alternatives and resources to make informed decisions around travel risk Ourapproach to travel risk management is like no other We comprehensively reference all therelevant international conventions and risk management solutions consolidate variousdisciplines and technical methodologies for evaluating risk then apply this superior model toeach and every individualrsquos itinerary journey or travel plan
Copyright 2013 Intelligent Travel | All Rights Reserved | Contact Intelligent Travel
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5 Crisis Management LessonsFrom Flight MH370
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Travel Risk Management
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Travel Health
Business Travel
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Search
POLICY GUIDE
Terms amp Conditions
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Delivery Policy
See Also The Sinister Scary Impact of Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH370
1 Ownership amp Authority
Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian Government are not one in the same One is thecommercial provider of services and the operator of flight MH370 the other is the countryrsquosgovernment and origin for this nationalflag carrier One should be the focal point for allcommunications and engagement with stakeholders the other is a stakeholder Thisdelineation has not been maintained clear or preserved throughout the incident with eachentity communicating over the top of each other or their views and comments causing issuefor the other The net result is that both entities have suffered due to a lack of clearownership of the issue and defined authority on who does what and when
This issue should have been quickly identified and managed throughout the course of theincident While it may not have resolved the overwhelming negative to neutral sentimentaround the handling of the incident modifiers and better crisis leadership measures couldhave been implemented
It should be clear to all stakeholders including the media who is responsible and in chargeof a crisis or significant incident such as this and that status should be maintained throughoutunless there is very good reason to alter this status and that too much be clearly andconsistently communicated
Sentiment Analysis Flight MH370
2 Scenario Mapping
Numerous scenarios interests and issues can arise from any critical incident or crisis It isimportant to map all the likely and plausible events and develop counter plans andcommunications for each of these scenarios A failure to do so means you are constantlychasing the lead issue and responding to opinion or developing topics This is whathappened with flight MH370 Each time there was a wild or relatively accurate assumptionstory or claim the focus of the crisis management response was to follow and counteract the
the World[Infographic]
October 21st 2013
Guide toSleeping inan Airport[Infographic]
October 25th 2013
PersonalTravel RiskManagementItinerary[Updated]
October 24th 2013
Travel andRiskManagementResourcesWeeklyRound Up42
October 18th 2013
How ToProtectYourselfFromHackers ndashInfographic
August 23rd 2013
WhereAustralianTravellersDiedOverseas in2013[Infographic]
October 13th 2013
issue not lead and plan in advance By not having these complete scenarios in advance ithas resulted more in ldquocrisis pursuitrdquo than leadership and management
Some of the key scenarios and counter plans should have included acts of terror coursedeviation plausible causes popular myths technical facts inter-country collaboration etc
Topic Trends Flight MH370
3 Public Education
Despite the publicrsquos opinion or awareness that aviation is now a rather simple andstraightforward affair it is simply not the case Therefore there is a lot of education andtechnical communications that needs to be presented to the public in order for them tounderstand the specific answer or appreciate why things are not instantaneous Including justhow many stakeholders are involved in even the most simple of events perceived eventswhen it comes to flying across multiple countries and travelling thousands of kilometres in asingle flight This wasnrsquot done effectively Too much speculation or education [both accurateand inaccurate] was left to the public forums and media outlets to educate and dominate theconversation leading to even more questions and response requirements for those handlingthe crisis
Breakdown the message separate technical data and education from the updates andinformation of the event Pre-prepare many of these elements in advance and use themwhenwhere relevant Donrsquot just talk about the actions and plans without explaining someof the technical limitations or issues that affect the decision or success of the plan Assumenothing Educate inform and empathise in unison
4 Endurance
It is surprisingly shocking how ill prepared businesses or crisis management teams are for aprotracted event Crisis events may last for days weeks or months before returning tosomething close to the tempo experienced prior to the event Some businesses meet theirend as a result of a poorly managed crisis or simply lsquolimprsquo along in a greatly diminished
capacity post incident While there was a lot of activity and response in the initial hours anddays of the incident the ability to maintain the tempo required faltered very quickly Keyappointments information updates points of contact and many other elements of the crisisresponse were intermittent in their availability or contribution allowing for massivelysignificant third party influence in their absence This in turn resulted in having to managethat influence and respond to non-scheduled issues which in turn consumed the time andresources of the crisis team when they did again surface
Gone are the days where you can force a single press conference or scheduled informationupdate to all interested and affected parties It is a 247 global news environment now andhas been over over a decade
There are many more channels in which an effective crisis leadership response much engageand communicate via in the modern era
Immediately plan for sustained engagement and prolonged activity at the outset of a lsquocrisisrsquoYou can always stand down resources or scale back but surging in fits and starts yields poorresults and will not contribute to a successful outcome People need to eat sleep and restbut your priority management systems can not be permitted to do so
Primary Media Sources Flight MH370
5 Objective Analysis
A very very small percentage of the audience interested in flight MH370 originated fromMalaysia Most of the interest pressure and news coverage originated from outside ofMalaysia This key stakeholder group needed to be better catered for not only due to theirinterest but also the influence they had on the rest of the world and families affected
Step away from cultural norms and internally accepted practices and consider the demandand impact from the perspective of objective and third party influences if necessaryObjectively evaluate your performance and results through the eyes of those you need mustor want to influence This includes victims families and directly affected stakeholders notjust the media
Schedule information and communication updates to correspond with key timezones and
Share This Story Choose Your Platform
About the Author Intelligent Travel
peak periods in your stakeholder locations ie news updates that might be late at night or
early morning for you but morning afternoon and evening news update periods for yourbiggest or most influential audience
Top Country Interest Flight MH370
Our sympathies and condolences to the families and victims of flight MH370 IntelligentTravel
Tony Ridley CEO Intelligent Travel
We inform and educate travellers on the specific threats and hazardsassociated with a particular itinerary or destination Next we evaluate thepreparedness treatment solutions or modifiers established by the travelleror companyrsquos risk management team Finally we provide risk management
advice alternatives and resources to make informed decisions around travel risk Ourapproach to travel risk management is like no other We comprehensively reference all therelevant international conventions and risk management solutions consolidate variousdisciplines and technical methodologies for evaluating risk then apply this superior model toeach and every individualrsquos itinerary journey or travel plan
Copyright 2013 Intelligent Travel | All Rights Reserved | Contact Intelligent Travel
RECENT POSTS
5 Crisis Management LessonsFrom Flight MH370
International Coffee DrinkingGuide for Travellers[Infographic]
What is the cost-benefit-analysis or ROI for travel riskmanagement
Travel Safety amp SecurityVideo Risk Analysis
Medical Tourism Travel 8Million Travellers Per Yearand Growing
TRAVEL TOPICS
Travel Risk Management
Travel Management
Travel Technology
Duty of Care
Travel Security
Travel Health
Business Travel
SEARCH
Search
POLICY GUIDE
Terms amp Conditions
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Delivery Policy
issue not lead and plan in advance By not having these complete scenarios in advance ithas resulted more in ldquocrisis pursuitrdquo than leadership and management
Some of the key scenarios and counter plans should have included acts of terror coursedeviation plausible causes popular myths technical facts inter-country collaboration etc
Topic Trends Flight MH370
3 Public Education
Despite the publicrsquos opinion or awareness that aviation is now a rather simple andstraightforward affair it is simply not the case Therefore there is a lot of education andtechnical communications that needs to be presented to the public in order for them tounderstand the specific answer or appreciate why things are not instantaneous Including justhow many stakeholders are involved in even the most simple of events perceived eventswhen it comes to flying across multiple countries and travelling thousands of kilometres in asingle flight This wasnrsquot done effectively Too much speculation or education [both accurateand inaccurate] was left to the public forums and media outlets to educate and dominate theconversation leading to even more questions and response requirements for those handlingthe crisis
Breakdown the message separate technical data and education from the updates andinformation of the event Pre-prepare many of these elements in advance and use themwhenwhere relevant Donrsquot just talk about the actions and plans without explaining someof the technical limitations or issues that affect the decision or success of the plan Assumenothing Educate inform and empathise in unison
4 Endurance
It is surprisingly shocking how ill prepared businesses or crisis management teams are for aprotracted event Crisis events may last for days weeks or months before returning tosomething close to the tempo experienced prior to the event Some businesses meet theirend as a result of a poorly managed crisis or simply lsquolimprsquo along in a greatly diminished
capacity post incident While there was a lot of activity and response in the initial hours anddays of the incident the ability to maintain the tempo required faltered very quickly Keyappointments information updates points of contact and many other elements of the crisisresponse were intermittent in their availability or contribution allowing for massivelysignificant third party influence in their absence This in turn resulted in having to managethat influence and respond to non-scheduled issues which in turn consumed the time andresources of the crisis team when they did again surface
Gone are the days where you can force a single press conference or scheduled informationupdate to all interested and affected parties It is a 247 global news environment now andhas been over over a decade
There are many more channels in which an effective crisis leadership response much engageand communicate via in the modern era
Immediately plan for sustained engagement and prolonged activity at the outset of a lsquocrisisrsquoYou can always stand down resources or scale back but surging in fits and starts yields poorresults and will not contribute to a successful outcome People need to eat sleep and restbut your priority management systems can not be permitted to do so
Primary Media Sources Flight MH370
5 Objective Analysis
A very very small percentage of the audience interested in flight MH370 originated fromMalaysia Most of the interest pressure and news coverage originated from outside ofMalaysia This key stakeholder group needed to be better catered for not only due to theirinterest but also the influence they had on the rest of the world and families affected
Step away from cultural norms and internally accepted practices and consider the demandand impact from the perspective of objective and third party influences if necessaryObjectively evaluate your performance and results through the eyes of those you need mustor want to influence This includes victims families and directly affected stakeholders notjust the media
Schedule information and communication updates to correspond with key timezones and
Share This Story Choose Your Platform
About the Author Intelligent Travel
peak periods in your stakeholder locations ie news updates that might be late at night or
early morning for you but morning afternoon and evening news update periods for yourbiggest or most influential audience
Top Country Interest Flight MH370
Our sympathies and condolences to the families and victims of flight MH370 IntelligentTravel
Tony Ridley CEO Intelligent Travel
We inform and educate travellers on the specific threats and hazardsassociated with a particular itinerary or destination Next we evaluate thepreparedness treatment solutions or modifiers established by the travelleror companyrsquos risk management team Finally we provide risk management
advice alternatives and resources to make informed decisions around travel risk Ourapproach to travel risk management is like no other We comprehensively reference all therelevant international conventions and risk management solutions consolidate variousdisciplines and technical methodologies for evaluating risk then apply this superior model toeach and every individualrsquos itinerary journey or travel plan
Copyright 2013 Intelligent Travel | All Rights Reserved | Contact Intelligent Travel
RECENT POSTS
5 Crisis Management LessonsFrom Flight MH370
International Coffee DrinkingGuide for Travellers[Infographic]
What is the cost-benefit-analysis or ROI for travel riskmanagement
Travel Safety amp SecurityVideo Risk Analysis
Medical Tourism Travel 8Million Travellers Per Yearand Growing
TRAVEL TOPICS
Travel Risk Management
Travel Management
Travel Technology
Duty of Care
Travel Security
Travel Health
Business Travel
SEARCH
Search
POLICY GUIDE
Terms amp Conditions
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Delivery Policy
capacity post incident While there was a lot of activity and response in the initial hours anddays of the incident the ability to maintain the tempo required faltered very quickly Keyappointments information updates points of contact and many other elements of the crisisresponse were intermittent in their availability or contribution allowing for massivelysignificant third party influence in their absence This in turn resulted in having to managethat influence and respond to non-scheduled issues which in turn consumed the time andresources of the crisis team when they did again surface
Gone are the days where you can force a single press conference or scheduled informationupdate to all interested and affected parties It is a 247 global news environment now andhas been over over a decade
There are many more channels in which an effective crisis leadership response much engageand communicate via in the modern era
Immediately plan for sustained engagement and prolonged activity at the outset of a lsquocrisisrsquoYou can always stand down resources or scale back but surging in fits and starts yields poorresults and will not contribute to a successful outcome People need to eat sleep and restbut your priority management systems can not be permitted to do so
Primary Media Sources Flight MH370
5 Objective Analysis
A very very small percentage of the audience interested in flight MH370 originated fromMalaysia Most of the interest pressure and news coverage originated from outside ofMalaysia This key stakeholder group needed to be better catered for not only due to theirinterest but also the influence they had on the rest of the world and families affected
Step away from cultural norms and internally accepted practices and consider the demandand impact from the perspective of objective and third party influences if necessaryObjectively evaluate your performance and results through the eyes of those you need mustor want to influence This includes victims families and directly affected stakeholders notjust the media
Schedule information and communication updates to correspond with key timezones and
Share This Story Choose Your Platform
About the Author Intelligent Travel
peak periods in your stakeholder locations ie news updates that might be late at night or
early morning for you but morning afternoon and evening news update periods for yourbiggest or most influential audience
Top Country Interest Flight MH370
Our sympathies and condolences to the families and victims of flight MH370 IntelligentTravel
Tony Ridley CEO Intelligent Travel
We inform and educate travellers on the specific threats and hazardsassociated with a particular itinerary or destination Next we evaluate thepreparedness treatment solutions or modifiers established by the travelleror companyrsquos risk management team Finally we provide risk management
advice alternatives and resources to make informed decisions around travel risk Ourapproach to travel risk management is like no other We comprehensively reference all therelevant international conventions and risk management solutions consolidate variousdisciplines and technical methodologies for evaluating risk then apply this superior model toeach and every individualrsquos itinerary journey or travel plan
Copyright 2013 Intelligent Travel | All Rights Reserved | Contact Intelligent Travel
RECENT POSTS
5 Crisis Management LessonsFrom Flight MH370
International Coffee DrinkingGuide for Travellers[Infographic]
What is the cost-benefit-analysis or ROI for travel riskmanagement
Travel Safety amp SecurityVideo Risk Analysis
Medical Tourism Travel 8Million Travellers Per Yearand Growing
TRAVEL TOPICS
Travel Risk Management
Travel Management
Travel Technology
Duty of Care
Travel Security
Travel Health
Business Travel
SEARCH
Search
POLICY GUIDE
Terms amp Conditions
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Delivery Policy
Share This Story Choose Your Platform
About the Author Intelligent Travel
peak periods in your stakeholder locations ie news updates that might be late at night or
early morning for you but morning afternoon and evening news update periods for yourbiggest or most influential audience
Top Country Interest Flight MH370
Our sympathies and condolences to the families and victims of flight MH370 IntelligentTravel
Tony Ridley CEO Intelligent Travel
We inform and educate travellers on the specific threats and hazardsassociated with a particular itinerary or destination Next we evaluate thepreparedness treatment solutions or modifiers established by the travelleror companyrsquos risk management team Finally we provide risk management
advice alternatives and resources to make informed decisions around travel risk Ourapproach to travel risk management is like no other We comprehensively reference all therelevant international conventions and risk management solutions consolidate variousdisciplines and technical methodologies for evaluating risk then apply this superior model toeach and every individualrsquos itinerary journey or travel plan
Copyright 2013 Intelligent Travel | All Rights Reserved | Contact Intelligent Travel
RECENT POSTS
5 Crisis Management LessonsFrom Flight MH370
International Coffee DrinkingGuide for Travellers[Infographic]
What is the cost-benefit-analysis or ROI for travel riskmanagement
Travel Safety amp SecurityVideo Risk Analysis
Medical Tourism Travel 8Million Travellers Per Yearand Growing
TRAVEL TOPICS
Travel Risk Management
Travel Management
Travel Technology
Duty of Care
Travel Security
Travel Health
Business Travel
SEARCH
Search
POLICY GUIDE
Terms amp Conditions
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Delivery Policy
Copyright 2013 Intelligent Travel | All Rights Reserved | Contact Intelligent Travel
RECENT POSTS
5 Crisis Management LessonsFrom Flight MH370
International Coffee DrinkingGuide for Travellers[Infographic]
What is the cost-benefit-analysis or ROI for travel riskmanagement
Travel Safety amp SecurityVideo Risk Analysis
Medical Tourism Travel 8Million Travellers Per Yearand Growing
TRAVEL TOPICS
Travel Risk Management
Travel Management
Travel Technology
Duty of Care
Travel Security
Travel Health
Business Travel
SEARCH
Search
POLICY GUIDE
Terms amp Conditions
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Delivery Policy