Crisis management definition

We are without doubt going through a true global crisis.
But what is a real crisis management definition?
And how can you stay on top of things in such a nerve racking, unknown situation like the current pandemic - be it on a personal level, corporate or as a small business owner?
We are truly all being tested these days, and it will soon become visible how the world as we know it will change through Corona. 

Crisis management definition

A crisis can be created by any unexpected event that leads to a situation which seems out of control, which leads to instability and unrest.

This can be a crisis on many levels:

• A personal crisis which throws individuals out of their comfort zone and into a situation they were not prepared for and shakes up their lives. It is important to know that especially on a personal level, a crisis is something very subjective - for one person, the break up of a relationship is felt as a loss but can be overcome, for others, the same event will be seen as a deep crisis.
• An organizational crisis - theft or betrayal, technological failure, a boycott are all different events that can put an organization into a crisis, depending how well they were prepared for it and how they can deal with it.
• A global crisis like what we are experiencing at the moment through the Covid-19 virus. This was an unprecedented event that led to a global pandemic and could not have been expected by most individuals, governments and companies.   

What is crisis management?

Crisis management definition is, simply put, how you deal with the crisis or how well you are prepared for it, as an individual or a government.

Being prepared for every eventuality is challenging, if not impossible.

As I just said, the impacts of the corona crisis (and it has only just started) could hardly have been foreseen and it is very difficult to prepare for such an event. If you rely on having an online business without any personal interactions, you might be a winner in this crisis. However, if the virus were an online one, it could equally bring your entire business to crash.

Whichever way you try and prepare, you can never be really prepared for all eventualities.

This is life!

And yes, this is life! 

Life is a series of ups and downs, day and night, positive and negative experiences.... 
Whilst we think that we have everything under control and our life moves as we expect it, the truth is that you never know what will happen tomorrow and everyone can be thrown off course very quickly and unexpectedly.

The question is, how do you deal with it and how do you navigate the unknown and still continue living and learning?
How can you bring order into chaos?
How can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Seeing life through the eyes of a horse

This is where the horses can come in and help us.
Being a prey animal, they know exactly what it means to live with fear. 
They rely on their fear to warn them from danger so they can flee and escape a situation that might cause them harm or death, and rely on their herd members and social structures to survive.

However, they do not let fear take over and rule their life, even though from their point of view, they could be constantly in danger.
It would be exhausting to be stressed permanently and would lead to weakening and burn out, meaning that in the essential moment, they might not have enough strength to flee.

Therefore, in nature they have specialized in distinguishing between fear that is real, and time to relax in between. 
Unfortunately, in our modern world we put them under constant strain and therefore wear them out much too soon, but that is a different story and if I started getting into this, I would deviate from the story... 
If any riders want to read more in depth about the concept of fear in horses and humans, I recommend Rick Gores page...

What can we humans learn from the horses and use when we go through a crisis? 

We can learn that the best method to get us through any crisis, be it personal or involving more members of the society, is to breath and go from moment to moment, from day to day.

We will get through this.
Every crisis will pass, but it will wear us out if we stress too much about it on the way.

It is ok to feel fear and run or take fast actions - but just until the biggest danger is over, then we must take a break, relax our shoulders and think wisely about the next steps before burning all our energy.

It is a very human instinct to constantly worry about the future, and this forward thinking has helped us to make big evolutionary steps, starting from the first step that transformed hunters into farmers.

However, with all the worry and concerns about the future, we should not forget the current moment which has all the power to transform the future.

Focus on the now, so you can change the later.