A New Crisis Playbook for an Uncertain World

We’re entering a period of unprecedented instability. Is your business prepared?

by

John E. Katsos

and

Jason Miklian

by

John E. Katsos

and

Jason Miklian

November 17, 2021 · Long read

01

A New Crisis Playbook for an Uncertain World

02

What Covid-19 Taught Us About Doing Business During a Crisis

03

Building a Culture That Can Withstand a Crisis

04

6 Types of Resilience Companies Need Today

05

The Power of Community Partnerships in Times of Crisis

06

Spotting a Modern Business Crisis — Before It Strikes

Summary.

Climate change. Globalization. Inequality. Over the next 20 years this trifecta will produce a period of uncertainty that will make the previous two decades look positively stable. How can business leaders ensure that their companies are confident, nimble, and successful instead of timid and unprofitable? The answer lies in three strategies that have been proven to work around the world: elevating community relationships to true partnerships, looking beyond government authorities for guidance, and making principled, consistent political choices. For smart firms, preparing for crisis will mean not only calculating strategic risks and being more efficient but also developing stronger social licenses to operate.

Today we stand at the precipice of not one but three converging and potentially catastrophic long-term trends: climate change, globalization, and growing inequality. On their own, each of these makes the occasional crisis worse: We might see a more destructive hurricane, a more widespread financial meltdown, or longer or more violent civil unrest. Together, though, these trends magnify challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic, for example, was not just a health crisis but an economic and political one as well.

Next In

What Covid-19 Taught Us About Doing Business During a Crisis

Takeaways from a seven-city global survey.

John E. Katsos is an associate professor of business law, business ethics, and social responsibility at the American University of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, and a research affiliate at Queen’s University Belfast. As a scholar, he has published dozens of academic and media articles, as well as reports for boards and international organizations. He has done fieldwork in Iraq, Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong and is considered one of the world’s leading researchers on business in crisis zones. As an educator, Katsos teaches undergraduate, graduate, and executive students in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa how to manage more ethical and sustainable organizations for a better world.
Jason Miklian is a senior researcher at the Centre for Development and the Environment, at the University of Oslo. He has published extensively on the topic of business and peace, including award-winning articles based on fieldwork in Bangladesh, Colombia, India, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Considered a top global expert in the field of business, peacebuilding, and crisis, he sits on numerous boards and high-level expert panels. Miklian has also written for or been cited in an expert capacity by the New York Times, the BBC, Foreign Policy, The Economist, and other news organizations, and he is a coauthor (with Scott Carney) of The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation (HarperCollins, forthcoming).

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