Lessons left to us by its protagonists on crisis management

9/11, as it is known, marked a before and after in crisis management. In chaos, no specific plan can be established.

Where were you and what were you doing on September 11, 2001? If you are over 35 years old, you remember it exactly. After the first crash of a “plane” against one of the Twin Towers in New York, you were probably already paying attention to the morning news on television or radio. A second plane appeared. You didn’t understand what was happening, nor did the US government and the media. “It seems that a police helicopter is approaching to help,” said a Warner Channel host innocently… And boom! There was no longer any doubt it was a terrorist attack.

Minutes later, the media broadcast images of the president of the United States, George W. Bush, sitting on a bench in an elementary school in Florida, holding a children’s book in his hand, with his gaze lost in infinity and his face pale after that one of his collaborators whispered something in his ear.

The world needed clear, truthful, and convincing answers.

9/11, as it is known, marked a before and after in crisis management. In chaos, no specific plan can be established. There is no time for trial and error. Act quickly and then decide on the fly if you need to recap. But to do this, it is essential to resort to predefined practices tested with the study of other cases typical of crisis management practices.

For some of its protagonists, 9/11 was a crucial moment in their lives. They had to demonstrate their capacity and leadership to address the effects of the worst terrorist crisis against the United States: make decisions, form and lead work teams, establish priorities (immediate attention to the emergency and victims), carry out coordinated actions with different instances and audiences, and communicate in a timely manner.

Some people did it differently.

Politicians, the media, and history have judged them, for better and worse, for their decisions and actions in the face of this crisis. But regardless of this, some have left us some lessons:

Rudolph Giulani, New York major (1994 – 2001)

He arrived at the World Trade Center a few minutes after the first attack on one of the Twin Towers. That day, and those that followed, he supervised the rescue efforts, walked on the so-called ground zero and listened to citizens, attended interviews and gave press conferences, and attended funerals and memorial services. He was omnipresent. He was always at the right time and place; his empathy with the victims and his firmness and decision regarding the actions to be taken to raise New York from the ashes lifted the spirits of its inhabitants and all of the United States. Due to his relevant role as mayor of New York in this crisis, in 2001, Giulani was Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Giulani left us four main lessons of leadership in a crisis:

a) Be visible and available at all times

b) Communicate to different audiences, not just the media

c) Be resilient, adapt to adverse circumstances as they arise, and with the certainty that they will be overcome

d) Be empathetic with different audiences, especially with victims

Afterward, Giulani’s political career has had ups and downs, but that’s another story.

Roger W. Ferguson Jr., Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve (1999 – 2006)

On his LinkedIn profile, he published a blog recounting what the Fed did that day and the following days to avoid creating or worsening an economic crisis: he sent two simple, clear and simple messages:

a) The Federal Reserve is open and operating

b) The Federal Reserve will use its tools to support the financial system fully

The Fed continued to communicate with the media, the financial sector, the government, and lawmakers for several days after the attack. As Ferguson points out: “Communication is a continuous process, not once and done.”

For Ferguson, every organization must have guiding principles well assimilated by all its members. These principles will be necessary to guide them because in a crisis, each member will be tasked with making decisions minute by minute without supervision, as happens in some crises.

The Federal Reserve helped stabilize markets and the global economy after the 9/11 attacks. This showed that parallel and coordinated actions were required: attention to the effects of the crisis on the economy and communication to reassure markets and investors, where they reported what happened, what was being done to address the emergency, and what corrective actions would be taken to avoid future crises.

Other mega crises after 9/11 have occurred in the world. Covid-19, for example. What have we learned? How have the international authorities or those of each country acted? They are not only the immediate effects of the crisis (terrorist, health, environmental, etc.) but also the capacity they would have to face the economic and social challenges they entail.

Are we ready for a new Black Swan?

Governments and companies must take these references to assimilate, learn, and apply the lessons that the crises have left.

Not all crises are the same, but we learn from all of them.

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