Segal recommends ‘10 Rs’ to manage crises

“I encourage people to be continuing students of crisis situations,” said author and National Press Club member Edward Segal at a March 18 Member Author Virtual Book Talk, as he broke down his crisis-management advice to “the 10 Rs: Risk, Reduce, Ready, Redundancies, Research, Rehearse, React, Reach Out, Recover, and Remember.”

In his latest book, Crisis Ahead — 101 Ways to Prepare For And Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies, Segal uses his 30 years of experience as a crisis-management expert to address how businesses and other organizations can best respond to, manage, and quickly recover from a crisis.

Crisis Ahead was updated before publication to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The book explores key messages and lessons we can learn from pandemic.  

Since the book was published last year, Segal noted, recent crises – such as accusations against Governor Andrew Cuomo, D-New York; Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex; the Capitol riot; and the failure of the Texas power grid during a period of severe cold weather – have provided additional excellent examples of crisis management or mismanagement, and that we can gain important insights from each.

While discussing the accusations against Cuomo, Segal was asked how he would advise those who react with defensiveness when confronted with a crisis caused by their behavior. He stressed not letting ego get in the way, stating bluntly, “Get over yourself. It’s not about you. It’s about what you’ve done, or what the allegations are. To not address it or not take ownership will put you in a deeper and deeper hole.”  He also noted that, “apologizing is a really good first step in any crisis.”

Crisis Ahead, which was rated the best new book to read about crisis management in 2020 and 2021 by Book Authority, and was also rated by the website as one of the best books on crisis management of all time, offers practical thought exercises and advice addressing a myriad of crisis situations. It analyzes the many ways in which a crisis can damage an organization, examines case studies of actual situations that have occurred, and looks at “how well [those managing the crisis] did, and what readers can learn from their successes and failures,” Segal said. 

In discussing his several published books to date, Segal also offered advice for aspiring authors, stating, “If you think you have a book inside you, you probably do; and don’t wait to get it out however you can, as quick as you can.” 

The virtual book talk was sponsored by the Member Author Book Group, and group member Naomi Weiss introduced Segal.

The Member Author Book Group seeks to produce events for members to promote their recently published books. To inquire about the group, please contact Joe Motheral at [email protected]. The group meets (currently virtually) on the second Tuesday of the month at noon.