It has been said that when everything’s a crisis, nothing’s a crisis. But over the past few years, we sure have seen a lot of genuine crises. School or workplace shootings, hateful and violent campus protests, hurricanes, food safety issues, cyberattacks, a pandemic, civil unrest, and getting caught up in a viral maelstrom in our contentious political climate (see, e.g., Bud Light). All have had profound impacts on organizations' standing with key constituencies. The next crisis could be right around the corner, and the world will not be forgiving if we don’t handle it well.

I have had the privilege of serving as the Burlington County (NJ) Prosecutor, as senior deputy chief counsel to Gov. Chris Christie, and as associate counsel to President George W. Bush, and have learned a few lessons (some of them the hard way) about managing crises. Fundamentally, it is critical that organizations have a crisis management plan and be in position to respond effectively to prevent an emergency from becoming a crisis, or mitigate the consequences of whatever crisis arises.