How Training Like A Pilot Will Set You Up For Success In Crisis Management
Does training your public relations team like pilots really help them
manage a crisis better? Robert Glazer from Forbes seems to think so.
When a company is faced with a crisis, actions need to be taken fast and
efficiently as there is little time to spare before a situation can get much
worse. Therefore, it is always wise to prepare action plans in case such a
crisis occurs.
In reality however, things rarely go as planned; especially in a
volatile industry such as public relations where emotions and feelings often
take the forefront of public outrage. As said by nineteenth century German
military strategist Helmuth von Moltke: “No battle plan survives contact with
the enemy”.
This is why it is important for first responders to remain calm and
clear-minded when a crisis breaks out. They need to be trained to calmly assess
the situation, gather the information they need and formulate an appropriate
response that will defuse the situation in as short a time as possible.
As Glazer describes it, aircraft pilots are taught several key
principles that they can utilise during emergencies. Among them is the ANC
protocol. As Glazer explains it:
The ANC protocol stands for Aviate, Navigate and Communicate, in that
order.
Aviate – Maintain control of the aircraft
Navigate – Know where you are and where you intend to go
Communicate – Let someone know your plans and needs
Translating it to laymen terms, aviate is the process of maintaining
calm and gaining control over the situation. Navigate is the process of
figuring out what actions are needed to be taken in order to correct the
course. Finally, once we understand the situation and have a proper course of
action planned out, then only do we communicate the issue to the public (the
passengers in the case of a commercial airliner).
Glazer gives us the example of Southwest Flight 1380 where Captain
Tammie Jo Shults expertly utilised the ANC protocol to gain control of the
situation and successfully landed her aircraft after one of its engines
exploded mid-flight. Only once she had control of the aircraft and a plan to
land it did she communicate to the passengers regarding the issue.
The passengers on the other hand panicked and immediately recorded the
drama on their phones and contacted loved ones. As a result, it was reported
that at least eighty percent (80%) of passengers did not assume bracing
positions as per safety regulations, endangering themselves.
Glazer’s full article can be viewed below.
Picture Credit: smartcockpit.com
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When Southwest Flight 1380 made an emergency landing in Philadelphia
after one of its engines exploded midflight and a fan blade punctured the
cabin, causing a sudden drop in pressure, the heroic actions of Captain Tammie
Jo Shults demonstrated a great lesson in leadership and crisis management.
One of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots, Captain Shults has been
heavily praised for her heroic actions to navigate Flight 1380 first to an
altitude where passengers could breathe and then safely land with one engine,
avoiding what could have been an even bigger catastrophe. Captain Shults has
been described as extraordinarily cool under pressure and impossible to rattle,
with her recent actions only reiterating those claims.
Pilots engage in some of the most rigorous training of any profession.
They constantly prepare for disastrous situations and practice maneuvers that
are unlikely to occur, such as landing a plane with one
engine. While most of us will never face these situations, there is
a core principle that pilots are taught for handling emergencies that we could
all learn from: the ANC protocol.
The ANC protocol stands for Aviate, Navigate and Communicate, in that
order.
Aviate – Maintain control of the aircraft
Navigate – Know where you are and where you intend to go
Communicate – Let someone know your plans and needs
Communication comes after gaining firm control over the situation
(Aviate) and figuring out what needs to be done in order to course correct
(Navigate). That’s why passengers are often kept in the dark initially when an
emergency takes place, because communication is not the most important thing
for the pilots to take care of.
Here is a perfect example of why pilots don’t communicate first. As the
passengers on Flight 1380 took selfies and videos of the drama and tried to
communicate with loved ones, they failed to follow basic safety instructions,
with 80 percent of passengers not wearing their oxygen masks correctly, which
put their own lives at risk. Had the pilot not gotten the plane to a low
altitude quickly, many of them may have died from this mistake.
There have been several corporate “emergencies” this year, most notably
with Facebook and Starbucks, where executives have had to respond in real time
to an evolving situation. Facebook in particular did not have a handle on the
Cambridge Analytica situation before they started communicating. Starbucks
fared much better.
Johnson & Johnson set the gold standard for how a company should
manage a crisis. In 1982, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules killed seven people in
the Chicago area. J&J, led by then CEO, James Burke, took full
responsibility for the tragic situation, even though their product had been
tampered with.
They focused on getting the facts and controlling the situation. They
also made the decision to voluntarily recall 100% of their products—despite
being told it was not necessary. It was one of the first major product recalls
in the U.S.
J&J also communicated frequently with affected stakeholders and
rolled out new tamper-proof packaging (a market first) within six weeks. By
creating trust, Tylenol’s market share recovered significantly, going from
almost zero right after the crisis to a new high within a year, a rebound that
surprised many experts who had emphatically declared the brand dead.
While business and community leaders can learn much from ANC and Johnson
& Johnson’s Tylenol situation, there’s a lot to be said for the quality of
a person during a crisis.
Captain Shults was rightly applauded for her heroic maneuvers in landing
the plane. She was skilled, stoic, calm and focused during a terrifying crisis.
She was also compassionate. After the flight landed, passengers remarked on how
she addressed them individually to make sure they were alright. This was,
hopefully, their lasting memory of an unimaginably scary experience.
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