Every engagement starts the same way: with the right questions, asked by the right people.
Crisis Stress Test
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Run your scenario
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Know how ready you are before it happens
The situation
Crisis type
Your profile
Media environment
Stakeholders affected
Your readiness
Crisis plan
Spokesperson
Decision authority
Monitoring
Holding statements
Time to first statement8 hours
Readiness
40Partly ready
The basics exist, but the gaps will cost hours when it counts.
Your window
10h
before the narrative sets
First statement
11.4 h
1h after the window closes · incl. detection and sign-off
Pressure over the first 72 hours
No response: peak 75 at 26h
Your likely response: peak 52 at 15h
Prepared response: peak 19 at 18h
Shaded area: the hours before the story sets. Preparation lowers peak pressure by 33 points.
First decisions
4h
Convene the crisis team and confirm who decides
The first hour sets the pace for the next seventy.
6h
Approve the first public statement
Say what you know, what you are doing and when you will update.
6h
Brief staff and board before they read it elsewhere
Internal audiences are your fastest channel and your biggest leak risk.
24h
Notify regulators and affected people
Many jurisdictions set a 72-hour clock; the story is shaped by who hears first.
Gaps to close
Crisis plan
Without a current plan, the first hours go to deciding how to decide. Build or refresh the playbook and test it once.
Holding statements
Drafting from zero under pressure costs hours. Pre-approve holding lines for your most likely scenarios.
Spokesperson
An untrained or unnamed spokesperson slows the first statement and raises the risk of a second story. Name one and media-train them.
First 72 hours
Detect and convene0–2h
First statement2–6h
Stakeholder cascade6–24h
Sustain and adapt24–72h
Where to start
Crisis Futures Lab
Rehearse the difficult decisions before they become real: scenarios, triggers, decision protocols and holding statements.
Indicative simulation based on your inputs and general crisis dynamics. Not a forecast or legal advice. Nothing is sent unless you choose to send it to us.
