Crisis Management - Telecom New Zealand (Case Study)

Telecom New Zealand has been having a real hard time recently.  They engaged a new project and product offering.  Telecom installed an entire new network, called XT, with high speed capability across the country.

The system was buzzing along fine for a few months and then the unthinkable happened - the network failed!

Okay - they set to work to fix the problems as quick as they could.  Then a few weeks later the system crashed again, and then crashed again with a grand total of four crashes.  The crashes ranged from being nation wide for a few days, to occuring in a localised area for a few hours followed by inability of users to call emergency services.

Once the media sensed there was a 'news-worthy' story they started watching out for further fails.  Like vultures awaiting the dying prey to fall, the media waited.  And, unfortunately, they got what they wanted.

This post isn't bout the media and their coverage - it's about accountability.  Given the service crashed four times and affected different locations and types of customers who is responsible?  The most obvious place to start is the CEO.  They have the final sign off for crucial projects and therefore the buck stops with them.  Right?

Not necessarily.  Like the Toyota hearings being held in the Senate earlier in the year management may not have actually been at fault!

If I were the CEO of Telecom or Toyota here's what I would endeavor to do -

• Stay put.  I would do everything within my power to see the problems/projects completed.
• Be open and transparent.  There was no hiding the fact that there were issues going on.  Hiding away or trying to ignore the problems does nothing to solve them.  Create a plan or strategy for dealing with the issues (the more comprehensive the better) and then use the media to broadcast those ideas instead.  Make the media work for you and not the other way around.
• Rally internal support.  I would seek out those loyal to me firstly and make sure I had a team who were prepared to take the rap as well and see the project satisfactorily completed.  If I was unable to gather the level of support I needed then I would reconsider my first decision to stay put.
• Rally external support.  Ultimately shareholders and stakeholders are your employer.  I would be seeking out ways to get those persons on board as quick as I could.  The rlationship you have as CEO with the Chairman of the Board can be the making or the breaking of your employment position as well.
• Know when to call for help!  I would seek out extensive experts in their field.  No one person has the capability to deal with this type of situation.  Cool heads and intelligent people are needed to work through these issues. 

I am lucky(?) that I am not in the position of those CEO's and I wouldn't wish those fail scenarios on anyone.  But I do relish the opportunity to muse on what the Telecoms and Toyotas have done in their hour of crisis so that I can plan now for whatever may come in future years.

(Images - http://www.flickr.com/photos/francescobellu/3488788000/sizes/t/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/hulk4598/3381433179/)

Crisis - How do you deal with it?

A crisis can either paralyse you with fear or energise you to make a change going forward.

This week we have had to deal with a major crisis that fortunately will not have as much impact as we first thought it would have. Also the team came out the other side with a clearer understanding and sense of purpose than what we had before the crisis hit.

So what did we do to get through?

1. Called a crisis meeting. All the parties involved were called in. Not just the persons who may have appeared to have been at fault but a wider selection of people. Those persons who were also able to solve the situation.


2. Focused on the issue at hand. Move away from finger pointing, blaming others or trying to apportion responsibility to a person. Rather focus on fixing the problem.


3. Made action plans. Every person in the meeting left with a sense of direction about what would be done to solve the situation. Every person will also be held accountable for their assigned tasks to ensure they are completed correctly.


4. Created procedures and protocols. Solving the problem faced once is not good enough. Creating levers and establishing communication links for the future is the ultimate outcome.


5. Reflected. There were a whole bunch of people who - missed it. We all missed the error and didn't fully appreciate the outcomes of our decisions. Through reflection we are able to ensure (as well as we can) that we will not knowingly make the same mistakes again.


6. Came clean. Our boss went and spoke to the CEO as soon as we knew what was happening and was able to - build credibility (integrity and honesty) and take some of the heat out of the situation.

Don't get me wrong. There was a crisis and there is some fallout as a result. However given the fact that we dealt with it - early, with everyone and can move forward - we all get to sleep better at night as a result.

Crisis - Help!

What do you do when a crisis hits? A crisis provides the perfect opportunity for you to step up and display your leadership skills and prowess - provided you handle the situation correctly.

Try these easy steps -

1. Breathe. Allow oxygen into your lungs and brain before proceeding any further.


2. Focus. Stay in control and wait for the air to clear before doing anything else.


3. Get the full picture. Examine the situation as much as you can as quickly as you can.


4. Focus on the what first and the who later. In the middle of a crisis - you have to deal with the what. Deal with what is right in front of you.

There is nothing wrong with being in a crisis situation. Crises are sent to test you. You have the choice to become stronger through crisis - or let someone else become stronger instead of you.

Use crisis to show people what you are really made of!

Staying On Top Of Things

There are two kinds of stress at work - good stress and bad stress.

Good stress is the type that motivates you and gives you the edge to work smart, hard and better.

Bad stress is the kind that is demotivating, harmful and ultimately very bad for you.

How do you tell which is which? And how do you get better stress while avoiding bad stress?

1. Which is which? The best way to tell which stress you are under is to reflect on where you are at and what is taking place internally. Good stress creates a drive and pull factor within you to get the job done. Bad stress causes you to become frustrated, upset and often times will make you irritable and restless.


2. How do you get better stress? Simply - time management, delegation and understanding your role and the task.


3. How do you remove bad stress? There are times that projects and tasks will just not be completed properly or on time. There are also times that you will receive requests and extra work without knowing about it first. What do you do about it? In the short term - cope. In the long term - point out to the person who dumped the task on you that they could have manged the task better and it wasn't fair on you to have to pick up the pieces.

You can't avoid stressful situations - but you can learn to manage them and manage them well!

Focus On You

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity". JFK.

Just 24 hours after I wrote about crises I received an email from a friend at Waikato University about a workshop for people in just that situation. (At only $50 to attend they are giving it away.)

Interestingly enough the workshop is advertising that it will deal with crises both -

• internal (people who are not happy with where they are at) and


• external (people who have been made redundant).
  

I would attend myself, except that I will be attending adult teaching classes on Thursdays and one of the days I will be in Rarotonga. Lame excuses I know.

Why teaching classes? A change of direction for my career. New horizons and challenges.

Why Rarotonga? After ten years of being married (to the same person) it is time to head away, for some quality time - just for us.