In a weak economy it is not surprising to discover one of the fastest growing fields of business management is crisis management. Often a crisis situation occurs before it is fully realized by a business and a crisis management expert must be brought in to intervene. The goal of crisis management is to identify the nature of the crisis and plan a turnaround or liquidation strategy. The crisis management official is often struggling with multiple factors including the company's public image during the analysis of company's current profitability and recovery viability.

Many businesses try to restructure their way out of the crisis deploying many of the same strategies which lead to the current failures. Crisis management will see the company's structure with a fresh pair of eyes and can implement a crisis management plan from an impartial point of view.
Turnaround or liquidation may well be related to how soon a crisis experienced outside manager is brought in.

Recently US Automaker Chrysler was deemed "not salvageable" by both the media and the Federal Government. Detroit area turnaround specialist Jim McTevia of McTevia & Associates of Bingham Farms stated, "Ultimately you're talking about a set of circumstances that means a liquidation of Chrysler's assets, that's what everybody's been talking about but nobody's saying it." As of this writing, to our knowledge, Chrysler has not brought in a crisis manager to take over. It is said to be losing more money than it ever has.

Circuit City tried to restructure by firing its best sales people beginning in 2007. The internal decision made by Phil Schoonover former Circuit City chairman, CEO and president to transform Circuit City in to Best Buy was a critical factor in the company's failure. Had a crisis management official been brought in prior to the 2007 decision perhaps they could have developed a turnaround strategy, rather than succumbing to the eventual liquidation.

There is even help for crisis management in the nonprofit sector. Dr. George Head, PhD and director emeritus of the Insurance Institute of America in Malvern, PA and special advisor to the Nonprofit Risk Management Center and co-authored the Center's book, "Enlightened Risk Taking: A Guide To Strategic Risk Management For Nonprofits".

Head says, "Economic downturns bring both threats and opportunities to which a resourceful nonprofit can and should respond constructively - both for its own protection and for the greater well-being of its clients and of the general community of which that nonprofit is a contributing part. In hard times, it is easy to find and bemoan the threats. It is more rewarding for everyone, however, to seek out and seize the opportunities. In all of these circumstances, the discipline of risk management can provide resources and tools for sustaining a nonprofit and the clients and communities it serves".

The slowing economy has created a need for crisis managers within retail apparel sector. A veteran retailing expert, Milton Waldoff of The Waldoff group says, "The world of retail is fierce, competitive and unforgiving, more so today than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930's, surviving is not a given, nor is a successful closing." He continues, "A crisis management expert knows every situation cannot be turned around, some situations simply call for liquidation and management must have the experience, knowledge and expertise to know what works and what does not, and which situations might be turned around very successfully! Both take professional unemotional analysis and planning." Waldoff has been involved in numerous successful retail crisis management situations.

As the economy becomes less forgiving and consumers have less to spend, the marketplace will continue to contract to accommodate the loss of incoming revenue. Businesses large, small or non-profit can benefit from the services of a professional business crisis manager. Knowing when to hire a crisis manager to assess the health of your business could mean the difference between a turnaround or liquidation of your business.

Source: Lee Hiller link