Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

A few years ago, a regional brand we worked with found itself in the middle of a fast-moving online storm. A minor service error had escalated into angry tweets, then media pick-up. Their instinct? “Let’s wait it out. If we don’t feed the fire, it’ll burn out.” But silence doesn’t look neutral. In today’s environment, silence looks like guilt. Within 48 hours, the narrative was out of their hands. By the time they finally issued a statement, the damage wasn’t just about the service error -- it was about “a company that doesn’t care.” This isn’t a one-off. We’ve seen it across industries in Asia-Pacific : brands that equate silence with safety almost always dig themselves deeper . The public doesn’t interpret silence as strategic restraint ; they interpret it as evasion . And competitors or activists will happily fill that vacuum with their own version of the story. The lesson is clear: crisis management is not about hiding; it’s about speaking quickly without losing control . That’...

Most crisis management plans fail the moment reality hits. Here’s why your playbook is probably useless - and what actually works when reputation is on the line. Crisis management plans look great on paper. Thick binders. Colour-coded tabs. Executive signatures on the front page. But when the fire alarm goes off? Most of those plans are about as useful as duit pisang. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the majority of crisis plans fail the second they’re needed. Not because people don’t mean well, but because the plans are written for boardrooms, not for the chaos of real life. The Big Flaws We See Over and Over 1. Too Slow to Matter Plans are often thick binders or pretty PDFs that require endless approvals before anyone can act. By the time the press statement is “perfected,” the damage is already viral. 2. Too Sanitised to Be Believed Crisis templates are full of jargon and corporate-safe language. But in a real crisis, audiences crave honesty , not clichés. If your response...

Most organisations think they’re ready for a crisis. The truth? Very few are. Having a plan in a binder doesn’t mean your people can execute it under real pressure. When the heat is on, theory falls apart fast. That’s why true preparedness isn’t about what’s written down - it’s about what your team can do in the moment. Until you’ve tested your response in a live simulation, you don’t know how your leaders, systems, and spokespeople will actually perform. A war-room exercise reveals all of this. It uncovers how your team communicates under stress, where bottlenecks emerge, and whether your response truly reflects your brand values. It’s as much about testing leadership and agility as it is about stress-testing systems. At Orchan, we design and host crisis simulation workshops (war-rooms)  - in person or virtually - built around scenarios tailored to your organisation. We identify your likely vulnerabilities, then immerse your team in a realistic unfolding crisis. As the situat...