8. If your top executives were killed in an accident, who could take over right now?
Many organizations are proud of their “lean, mean” structures. While this is a good thing in terms of day-to-day performance, it can pose problems in a crisis. Remember: fat in our bodies protects us from cold and provides an important source of emergency fuel. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that anyone would need as much fat as I have, but… you get the picture.
Is there anyone in your organization who could assume the duties of the CEO today? Or, would the workload be disastrous? Would it be impossible to bridge the gap from specialist team leader to general manager? Apply the same question to every key role in your organization? How much depth of talent do you have? What are you doing to manage this issue?
High performing organizations are crisis resilient, in part, because they have actively managed succession plans and are organized and managed in such a way that they can work effectively even if key players are removed from the team. Your job is to ensure that you have people on board who could step into the gap immediately, and have identified external resources who could come on board in the short and longer terms.
