Disaster Recovery Journal

When Ed Devlin suggests that a crisis may threaten a business, he documents his thoughts with real examples. As each potential crisis is discussed in his chapter on "The Crisis Management Plan – What is it?" Ed cites news articles wherein actual coverage recounts an event where the crisis was played out as an incident. There’s no wondering if or when such a crisis might occur. Devlin gives concrete examples. Simply listing the real events would be preaching to the choir with BCP readers, but Ed goes far beyond listing them. His chapters on Business Continuity Planning, Stages of a Crisis, and Steps in Managing a Crisis, take you through the specific actions one might take before, during, and after a crisis. He always presents a forecast or introduction, and then spells out several events, taking you through case studies wherein mistakes were made and exemplary practices were demonstrated. He quotes experts as well as media reporters, even company executives who were directly involved.

If you have ever been tasked with consulting or training executives in crisis management, you will appreciate Ed’s chapters on "The Executive Management Team," "The Crisis Management Team," and "The Crisis Communications Team." These three chapters alone make the book a hands-on training manual for corporate leaders. His presentation of the duties and responsibilities of each team is clear and concise. He offers appendices after each chapter where specific position assignments are spelled out.

There is no more down-to-earth advice than Ed’s four actions of the Crisis Management Team: 1. Take charge quickly; 2. Determine the facts; 3. Tell your story; and 4. Fix the problem. The author presents vivid examples of all four phases of crisis management.

It’s not enough to write a book with so many great facts and examples. Devlin covers all the basics from terminology to developing the crisis management plan. And we mustn’t forget to exercise the plan. The final chapter spells out the details of exercising, including an exercise matrix.

Many of you know Ed, and that makes the book all that more informative and enjoyable. There’s no agenda here but exemplary crisis management planning and execution. After reading it, I immediately adopted it as a text for my graduate students at Elmira College.

Edited by Claire B. Rubin

2007, Fairfax, VA, Public Entity Risk Institute, ISBN: 978-0-9793722-0-9

FEMA, CERT, DHS, Civil Defense? Ever wonder where all these acronyms came from? An exciting way to discover their origin is to read this book. Claire Rubin has assembled an excellent team of emergency management historians and writers to explore the U.S. Government’s role in emergency management and how it has evolved over the last 100 years. The book purposely was extended to include the events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hence 105 years. In the first two chapters, covering 1900 – 1950, there are exciting accounts of some of the most devastating disasters in American history. The writers have included facts and details that make you wonder how the nation ever survived. From Galveston (1900) through the San Francisco earthquake and fire (1906), the Great Influenza Pandemic (1918), the Great Mississippi Flood (1927), and the Dust Bowl (1930’s), the writers explain possible causes, responses, mistakes, lessons learned, and government actions that led us to where we are today. The accounts are well documented with facts, findings, and criticisms. Interwoven into the historical data are tables detailing federal participation in mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

As the book progresses through time, federal government involvement is described with specific references to presidential executive orders, acts of Congress, and sensitivity to the responsibilities of the state and local governments. Each new law enacted is cited and the leadership of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Carter (who started FEMA, April 1, 1979), through more recent administrations is given appropriate credit. Agencies from the beginning through the Department of Homeland Security are discussed, giving specific details of their origins and changes over the years.

The book is uniquely summed up in Chapter 8, "From a Painful Past to an Uncertain Future," wherein writers Robert Ward and Gary Wamsley, professors at LSU and Virginia Tech respectively, provide expert analysis of both successes and failures in emergency management. They address the difficult issues of "political accountability vs. professionalism," "moral hazard and pre-disaster mitigation," and "civilian vs. military control" as the unresolved issues.

For anyone interested in BCP or EM, this book is foundational. It speaks of truth, reality, inevitability, government involvement, and future research in one very readable book. At PPBI, we believe in the emergence of both disciplines, and appreciate the work of these writers to advance our professions.

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