obtain control of events at the firm. Crisis Management Myth #1, therefore, is that experiencing frequent change in organizations, (or “crises”) is a bad thing. On the contrary, an organization in today’s business climate that iAll business managers have been warned against operating in an environment of crisis management. To be a more effective manager and leader, you’ll want to know that there are prevalent beliefs about crisis management that need to be understood and discounted. To allow us to examine beliefs that have been assumed for many years, I’ve described these prevailing ideas as the myths of crisis management in the text that follows.

Management in the modern organization, of necessity, requires managers that are fleet-of-feet and able to manage ever-changing conditions. When the term “crisis management” was coined forty years ago, organizations were still rather staid and unchanging entities. Consequently, it was deemed an unfavorable sign if an organization of that time was regularly in a state of crisis, or, change. And, the management of that organization was viewed as needing to exert more influence to obtain control of events at the firm. Crisis Management Myth #1, therefore, is that experiencing frequent change in organizations, (or “crises”) is a bad thing. On the contrary, an organization in today’s business climate that is

be understood and discounted. To allow us to examine beliefs that have been assumed for many years, I’ve described these prevailing ideas as the myths of crisis management in the text that follows.

Management in the modern organization, of necessity, requires managers that are fleet-of-feet and able to manage ever-changing conditions. When the term “crisis management” was coined forty years ago, organizations were still rather staid and unchanging entities. Consequently, it was deemed an unfavorable sign if an organization of that time was regularly in a state of crisis, or, change. And, the management of that organization was viewed as needing to exert more influence to obtain control of events at the firm. Crisis Management Myth #1, therefore, is that experiencing frequent change in organizations, (or “crises”) is a bad thing. On the contrary, an organization in today’s business climate that i

organization, of necessity, requires managers that are fleet-of-feet and able to manage ever-changing conditions. When the term “crisis management” was coined forty years ago, organizations were still rather staid and unchanging entities. Consequently, it was deemed an unfavorable sign if an organization of that time was regularly in a state of crisis, or, change. And, the management of that organization was viewed as needing to exert more influence to obtain control of events at the firm. Crisis Management Myth #1, therefore, is that experiencing frequent change in organizations, (or “crises”) is a bad thing. On the contrary, an organization in today’s business climate that ientities. Consequently, it was deemed an unfavorable sign if an organization of that time was regularly in a state of crisis, or, change. And, the management of that organization was viewed as needing to exert more influence to obtain control of events at the firm. Crisis Management Myth #1, therefore, is that experiencing frequent change in organizations, (or “crises”) is a bad thing. On the contrary, an organization in today’s business climate that iobtain control of events at the firm. Crisis Management Myth #1, therefore, is that experiencing frequent change in organizations, (or “crises”) is a bad thing. On the contrary, an organization in today’s business climate that is not in a constant state of fluctuation, change, and growth will not be able to survive. Organizations that understand the nature of change and its usefulness are those that do well. These organizations know that: 1) change is inevitable, as nothing is certain, except change itself; 2) imminent changes that are faced with courage and confidence are readily managed; 3) change brings with it a certain amount of ambiguity and turbulence; and 4) the results of facing the challenges of change well will be a more cohesive company environment, aligned with its business community and its clients and customers.

The challenge for modern managers is to learn the agility and responsiveness required in an age of computerization and technological interface. I’m frequently reminded of my research team’s early work with chaos theory and management. (Chaos Theory holds that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo t