Non-Crisis Planning

There’s a saying in the entrepreneurial world, “Business would be great but for the employees.” And there’s a saying in the employee world, “Business would be great but for the clients.” No fewer than five times a week, I receive some version of an SOS email or phone message that contains some version of: “I really need your help with ___ please call me back ASAP.” Upon receiving, I typically reply with a message offering available times to talk. Then nada, no response. I used to begin to worry that there was some mysterious van circling the U.S., capturing our members and holding them hostage somewhere in the depths of an attorney prison camp.

When we finally “found the time” to connect, I would get a wonderful response along the lines of, “Oh, it really wasn’t what I thought.” It is fascinating how quickly a crisis handsprings to a non-crisis in a matter of hours. Did the caller summon magic powers to make the crisis disappear, like Houdini? Or was a quick meeting called with all involved parties, all issues identified, proposed solutions discussed and agreed upon? Or was this no longer a big deal due to lack of time to address or solve it? Or was it the act of giving up caring, out of sheer exhaustion? “It wasn’t that big of an issue” is the customary response when we finally have the opportunity to connect.

In my experience, the issue that finally prompts the SOS message typically has been occurring for some time, but the crisis deflates over the period of even one hour because the solution begins to look like “too much work.” And the emotional energy level invested in solving the crisis tends to dissipates.

Crisis, hiccups, conflict and misunderstandings are inevitable. That goes for clients, employees, bosses — any person, place or thing that requires your emotional involvement. The best approach is to eliminate crisis in the first place. Non-Crisis Planning = Time and Attention.

Molly L. Hall, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.