Confronting the Bull Shark : Identifying and Preparing for Catastrophic Organizational Events

Every organization will experience a crisis. Some will be mild; others will be severe. All will experience the unexpected. Few will experience the totally unexpected negative events–the bull shark events. These events can only be dreamed of – in a nightmare. They arise out of some deep part of an organization that believes it has things under control, much as Bull Sharks arise out of completely unexpected freshwater river to thrash and kill its prey.Too many organizations never plan for any kind of crisis. They don't identify their vulnerabilities, typically obvious ones. A Bull Shark event is different, it's insidious. It lies deep beneath the surface, defying imagination and totally unexpected, causing chaos and havoc, threatening the life of the organization that it attacks. However, even a Bull Shark event can be imagined. But it takes a commitment to freeing people's imaginations and then planning for these totally unlikely events. This handbook offers the insights that will help organizations go beyond the obvious to the events that make no sense when they happen and disrupt organizations to the core, the Bull Shark events. It does this with examples of Bull Shark events, techniques to unearth your potential Bull Sharks, and techniques to deal with them when they arise. Read this book so you will know how to handle even the worst crises.