1st Edition
Extreme Crisis Leadership A Handbook for Leading Through the Unpredictable
This concise handbook presents a framework to help leaders across sectors understand what their role should be in an extreme crisis and supplements this understanding with practical advice.
Leadership is often presented as a kind of mastery—but no single person can master an extreme crisis event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders need a workable resource based on research and experience that can be accessed quickly and referenced easily to effectively handle crises and mitigate repercussions: This handbook is that resource. It begins with diagnostic tools to identify crisis types and leadership roles, then presents an easy-to-use matrix framework that allows readers to focus on the specific example-based section that best fits their role and the kind of crisis they face.
This handbook is accessible to leaders at all levels, from shift supervisors and emergency responders to CEOs and government executives. It will be an essential ready reference for any leader who might expect to encounter an extreme crisis, as well as for those who would not have foreseen themselves in such a situation.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Key Terms and Concepts
Chapter 3 Crisis Types
Chapter 4 Cross-Case Issues
Chapter 5 Black Elephant Crises
Chapter 6 Gray Rhino Crises
Chapter 7 Gray Swan Crises
Chapter 8 Black Swan Crises
Chapter 9 Conclusion
Biography
Dr. Charles A. Casto is a safety and regulatory professional with over 45 years of experience, including executive, regulatory, technical, and operational roles. Dr. Casto is the recipient of both the US Presidential Distinguished Award (2012) and the US Meritorious Rank Award (2009) and he served at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 28 years. His international experience as an extreme crisis leader includes having led the integrated US Government and NRC effort in Japan during and after the Fukushima nuclear accident, representing the US Government to the Japanese Prime Minister’s Cabinet.
"Extreme Crisis Leadership is an essential handbook for any leader or organization. It can help prepare leaders in advance of any extreme crisis or be used as a guide to help organizations muddle through the unknowns that come with disasters. This handbook lays out a model for leading during disasters and punctuates it with examples from real-life crises of differing magnitudes, including a black swan event...the first four chapters are especially helpful reference material for organizing a proper response to an unpredictable situation. The following case studies are also good at separating the strategies that would work in specific types of situations with varied levels of danger or available information. Extreme Crisis Leadership is a concise but extremely relevant handbook and highly recommended for everyone. Its strategies can help anyone, even outside of business contexts, manage various types of disasters. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels."
CHOICE, September 2023
