Crisis Preparedness: Lessons from a Kidnapping

Feb 21, 2017 | Security

On October 25, 2011, a young American humanitarian aid worker, Jessica Buchanan, was in Somalia teaching children how to avoid landmines when she and her colleague were kidnapped for ransom by Somali bandits. They were held in the desert at gunpoint for 93 days before...

Why Disciplined Crisis Management Briefing Cycles are Essential

Jan 26, 2017 | Crisis Communications, Crisis Management, Emergency Management

In those first few moments of a fast-paced incident, it is essential that the Crisis Management Team (CMT) comes together quickly in an organized and disciplined manner. It is in these early stages of the incident when discipline is incredibly important. If discipline...

Exercise Coordinator & Control Team Responsibilities

Jan 4, 2017 | Exercises, Tabletop Exercises

Ensuring the simulation exercise is a success requires detailed planning. The Exercise Coordinator has a number of responsibilities that are described in this short video.   The exercise team has a number of specific responsibilities when preparing, delivering...

4 Essential Crisis Management Tools

Dec 21, 2016 | Crisis Management, Emergency Management, Exercises, Security

1. The Master Events Log The MEL (Master Events Log) is an essential document that can help the crisis team document the incident as soon as it starts to unfold. The MEL is a document that should be filled out by a scribe who usually is in close coordination with the...

3 Crisis Scenarios to Consider

Dec 6, 2016 | Crisis Communications, Crisis Management, Exercises, Tabletop Exercises

Throughout 2016, we have created and delivered multiple crisis simulation exercises. Each scenario was custom created to each organization based on their exercise objectives. Scenarios must be customized to ensure the team being tested is engaged. Without engagement,...