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This is my first blog article and is also published here: https://www.yuann.co/posts/communicate-triage-uplift While the COVID-19 pandemic is taking the world by storm, our systems for working and learning have been significantly impacted, and we are seeing a massive spike in media consumption and content creation. More importantly, in confronting the challenges of this pandemic, we are forming a new sense of community. So I write my first blog article wondering about how best to share my thoughts during “these unprecedented times.” I wish to express my genuine desire to help others who are facing unique challenges, in a period of significant change and uncertainty. Since a lot is screaming for our attention these days, I appreciate you for reading this article. I welcome your feedback about your own best practices for crisis management, as well your ideas for future article topics centered around business operations leadership. Takeaways: Communicating with authenticity, speed, and transparency is the foundational core for crisis management. Triage response includes effectively prioritizing and directing available resources by keeping things simple, organized, and accessible. Uplift operational excellence by planning ahead, practicing continuous improvement, and staying positive. As a business operations leader, I regularly handle crisis management in times of uncertainty. Since business operations (BizOps) is responsible for the strategy and analysis around driving revenue, profitability, and growth for companies, it consequently provides key cross-functional leadership in organizations. When complex problems arise without clear ownership, people often first look to BizOps to take the lead on bringing solutions to the table and constructing action plans. The COVID-19 pandemic caught many off guard without warning, sending many businesses into crisis mode. The 3-part framework I use to guide me through crises is “communicate, triage, and uplift,” and I hope it may also serve you well during these uncertain times.‍ PART 1: COMMUNICATE WITH AUTHENTICITY, SPEED, AND TRANSPARENCY‍ When emergencies arise that may eventually evolve into a full-blown crisis, effective communication is critical. In Part 2, I get further into the dynamics of identifying and categorizing crises, but since we are dealing with uncertainty here, I find that communication needs to remain the front and center topic until more information is known. By its nature, some form of communication leads to an urgent situation presenting itself and demands attention. The response significantly determines the outcome of the situation, and as a compassionate leader, I value authenticity, speed, and transparency in my communications, and crises amplify these values. Authentic communication both comes from and engenders trust. That trust leads to successful outcomes by embracing a collaborative, supportive and cooperative approach. When someone triggers an alert to an emergency situation or potential crisis, I start with attentive listening. This serves three purposes: 1) to acknowledge the issue and reinforce open communication, 2) to gather more information to guide the response, and 3) to bring order and calm to the situation. Listening helps me work through the stages of the stress response: an alert or stimulus triggers a surge in adrenaline, which prompts a desire to fight, run, or hide. As these primitive mechanisms kick in, I breathe deeply and focus on the present, buying critical seconds for channelling that energy into calm, clearer thinking. While fear and the stress response are useful survival traits, when combined with uncertainty, it may lead to extremely contagious anxiety. That’s where the other 2 communication values kick in. Anxiety escalates in the absence of information, so it’s better to have an initial response quickly that acknowledges the problem, rather than leaving the other side hanging and ruminating about bad outcomes. For urgent issues, I generally target first response times of 15 minutes for internal communications and 2 hours for external communications, but this greatly varies depending on the business scenario. Transparency efficiently generates alignment, and separating what is known and unknown enables teams to collaboratively identify and fill gaps where needed. Since I learned about transparency’s effectiveness from early work experiences at Google, I try to be as transparent as possible, while including discretion on confidential or sensitive topics. Especially when faced with uncertainty, set proper expectations by not providing false reassurances or fake optimism. It’s ok to say you don’t know about something, or that a problem is new and unfamiliar: then let’s work together to solve it! ‍PART 2: TRIAGE BY PRIORITIZING AND DIRECTING AVAILABLE RESOURCES WHILE KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE, ORGANIZED AND ACCESSIBLE.‍ In college, I did EMT training where we covered the basics of triage and disaster management. Personal health and safety come first! You can’t help others if you don’t make sure you yourself are healthy and safe. Likewise, when encountering business operation emergencies, use situational awareness to determine if employee health or workplace safety are affected, and act accordingly. The next part is systematically identifying all the issues and tagging each with a priority. In medical triage, each case is worked systematically by tagging survivors with “I” (immediate=RED), “D” (delayed=YELLOW), “M” (minor=GREEN), and “DEAD” (BLACK). Similarly, with business triage, I visualize an organizational framework to ensure I’ve covered each functional group, or if we’re a room, I go from inside out in a counter-clockwise circle. Each issue gets tagged with a priority level P0-P3, where P0 is “immediate, all hands on deck” and P3 is “minor, handle when availability arises.” I treat issues that fall completely outside of our control or don’t require action as part of the “dead” category. After forming a map and assessment of the critical issues, the next step becomes documenting a plan that organizes resources. I try to keep things as simple as possible, using collaborative, accessible systems that folks are familiar with or easy to learn, such Google Sheets. Since BizOps serves as a cross-functional hub, I jump to the lowest common denominator, as not everyone on the team is familiar with, or has access to more sophisticated incident response systems like JIRA. Keeping things simple also enables the team to stay focused and agile, while facing problems that may involve significant complexity. From here, we run through the list of issues sorted by priority, where the team naturally organizes around responsibilities and assigns action items. We then form new Slack channels around specific issues requiring real-time communication, and identify future check-in points around other issues. Then off we go, set the plan in action! ‍PART 3: UPLIFT OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE BY PLANNING AHEAD, PRACTICING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, AND STAYING POSITIVE. ‍Now that the initial crisis response meeting has adjourned, and everyone is heading back to their desks to set the plan in motion, it’s time to take a deep breath and a break, right? Resoundingly, the answer is YES! Although instinctually, I may want to roll up my sleeves and start tackling the top issues, this is a critical period to shift gears and create whitespace for deeper thinking around longer-term planning. What new issues might arise that the team hasn’t considered yet, and how and when will I address them? Who are the appropriate stakeholders to invite to our post-crisis retrospective meeting, where we review our crisis response and identify additional opportunities for improvement? What gaps are being exposed during this incident or event that will allow us to tighten operations in the future? Finally, what if this becomes a deep and prolonged crisis, with lingering questions and uncertainties? How will I balance immediate firefighting with longer term needs, such as developing new fire suppression techniques, and planning for what happens in later phases of the crisis? Thinking through these questions -- even if it suspends action on immediate plans -- provides additional clarity and relief to confidently navigate the crisis. As a parting thought, my heart goes out there to everyone adversely affected by COVID-19, whether it is businesses facing financial turmoil, or individuals who are now facing unemployment or underemployment. Stay positive by recognizing that resilience through tragic events can lead to improvement opportunities with lasting impact. The Black Death caused incredible societal transformations that rebalanced long-standing economic inequalities, and led into the Renaissance era. Some of today’s great technology companies used the 2008 recession to lock in business fundamentals and step ahead of the pack. My own personal experiences with unexpected unemployment enabled me to reconnect with my purpose and strive toward new heights. I am hopeful about the lasting positive impact COVID-19 will have in the areas I am most passionate about, including the future of work and learning. Although some folks are just starting to adjust to the “new normal,” it is challenging to predict how long the current pandemic will last or its residual effects. There’s no better time than now to start preparing for our “next normal,” and the opportunities and challenges that will come with it!‍ FURTHER READING AND USEFUL RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS ARTICLE‍ Harvard Business Review - Coronavirus ebook Atlassian - Incident Response Playbook Ready.gov - Business Continuity Planning Connect with Michael Yuann: while we are physically distancing, let’s be socially united! I'd be glad to share some of my crisis management experiences directly.  Join our newly forming community centered around Business Operations at bizops.me.