When the Red Phone Rings: Three Questions to Ask in a Crisis

By John Baldoni
Harvard Business Review
May 13, 2022

“It’s three a.m. and the phone rings. Who do you want to answer it?” asks a baritone voice over an image of a red phone. Walter Mondale first used this scenario in an campaign ad in 1984. Hillary Clinton just used the same image in her campaign against Barack Obama. The inference is that it takes an experienced hand to pick up that phone.

CEOs also receive these early morning calls. Sometimes it’s a fire in a factory. Sometimes it’s a product recall. Sometimes it’s a kidnapped employee being held for ransom in a foreign land. Sometimes it’s a senior executive who has gotten himself into trouble. Be it a president or a corporate executive, the first thing that leader should do is ask questions. Three come to mind.

What is happening? Find out the situation is. Who is doing what to whom? Do we know why? Has this happened before? Knowing the answers to these questions will establish a background of facts before you act. Do not chase something blindly into the middle of the night. It could be nothing more than a raccoon. It could also be a trap into which you have led your entire force.

What is not happening? As much as you need to know what is going on, consider what remains the same. Who is not involved? Why not? How does this situation resemble previous situations? These answers broaden the understanding of the situation and put it into greater context. Specifically, what is happening may be an isolated occurrence or it may be something of huge significance.

What can I do to influence the action or outcome? Does the CEO need to do anything personally? Often, the CEO can hand off to a less senior executive. Being able to do that demonstrates faith in the subordinate and shows that the situation is not so dire that the top person has to be involved…[MORE]

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To read the entire article by Dorie Clark at The Harvard Business Review website, visit: When the Red Phone Rings: Three Questions to Ask in a Crisis