Spillover crisis: Baltimore’s bridge collapse
27/03/2024 Patrick Trancu
Il ponte Francis Scott Key a Baltimora

The recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has echoed the unsettling reminder provided by the Morandi Bridge disaster in Genoa, Italy: today’s crises often originate from external factors, impacting organizations and communities with overwhelming force, akin to a tsunami. Such events are known as “spillover crises.” Daily, 30,000 vehicles traversed the …

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Spearheading Advanced Training for Airport Emergency Management
01/02/2024 Patrick Trancu
Immagine di due persone che prestano assistenza psicologica ad un familiare.

We are especially proud to have received an important new assignment from a leading Italian airport operator to train its staff who are part of the Airport Contact Team. The entry into force in autumn 2023 of the new Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) “Regulation on Assistance to Air Accident Victims and their Relatives” requires …

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We are ready for a new challenge
23/01/2024 Patrick Trancu
Immagine generata da ChatGPT su prompt TT&A. Un palazzo avvolto tra nuvole raffiguranti volti con persone in piedi davanti allo stesso.

We begin the year with a new challenge: a new mandate from a Swiss company to develop a communications strategy to support corporate reputation in the context of a potentially critical issue. A very interesting and out-of-the-ordinary case because of the very particular context in which it develops.

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Climate change and crisis management
16/01/2024 Redazione
Una foto che illustra il cambiamento climatico: alluvioni in Gran Bretagna.

Climate change impacts our economy, health, well-being, safety, and quality of life. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. agency, the cost of weather and climate disasters in the United States exceeded $165 billion last year. You can read the report published annually here. In Italy, climate-related events have cost the …

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«18 seconds»: the Linate tragedy
27/10/2023 Patrick Trancu
18 secondi. La strage di Linate.

«18 seconds»” is a 4-episode podcast that retraces the Linate air disaster which claimed the lives of 118 people. 18 seconds are those that elapsed on October 8th, 2001 from the time of the impact between a Scandinavian Airlines plane taking off on the main runway and a Cessna at Milan Linate airport and the …

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How to make crisis management “smarter” and “faster”
30/09/2023 Patrick Trancu
Neural networks

“How to make democracy faster and smarter” published by Simon Kuper in this WE’s edition of the Financial Times reinforced some of my thinking on how we need to craft more complex organizations, mimicking neural networks, to manage 21st century systemic and polycrises.  The reality is that – at the State level – we continue to manage …

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Crisis hits while cooking spaghetti with clams
23/09/2023 Patrick Trancu
Keep calm and don't panic

Companies that approach crisis management seriously choose to undertake ongoing crisis preparedness programs. It is with these companies that it is a real pleasure to work. Not only because a relationship of trust is established but above all because, year after year, one can tangibly see the progress. Then there are times when – professionally …

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CEOs personal misconduct plunge organizations into crisis
18/09/2023 Patrick Trancu
Bernard Looney

Too often CEOs’ personal misconduct leads to their ousting and plunges organizations into crisis often ending with the demise of the company. “For decades, the main reason chief executives were ousted from their jobs was the firm’s financial performance. In 2018, that all changed. Misconduct and ethical lapses occurring in the #MeToo era are now …

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CEOs, magical thinking, and reputational crises
15/09/2023 Patrick Trancu
Reputational crises

A few days ago Jonathan Hemus shared a post on the importance of preparing (not planning) for “reputational crises”. A straw poll conducted during a conference organized by his company Insignia – Crisis Management Consultancy showed 68% of organizations in the room had never exercised such a scenario. In an article published in this WE’s Financial Times appropriately titled …

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