The anatomy of a crisis — “You called me a day late.”

It’s been a rough few years. A divisive president, race relations tearing at the fabric of our souls, a global pandemic that has killed a million Americans, the possibility of a world-wide war, inflation, a tanking stock market. That’s the doom-and-gloom reality for all of us. Toss in whatever personal challenges you’ve been through — the death of a loved one, loss of income, loss of love, or just an overbearing sense of malaise — and it’s easy to start to consider that our best years are in the rearview mirror.

Nevertheless, many philosophers and other deep thinkers counsel that every crisis has a silver lining. Every dark day is an opportunity for a rainbow on the other side.

“Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential.” Jeannette Walls — author/journalist widely known as former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com and author of The Glass Castle, a memoir of the nomadic family life of her childhood.

I’m in the business of telling stories — shaping language and situations to benefit others. Most of that work involves being proactive, looking towards the future to gain leverage and strategic advantages to advance a mission for individuals, organizations or causes.

My work also involves the inevitable dark side of public relations — managing a crisis. And while I’ve not done the internal research, it seems we’ve handled more crisis communications projects the past few years than the past 20 years combined. From politicians defending real, exaggerated or just plain fake accusations to a business facing an unexpected financial or personal crisis, we’ve seen it all.

According to several PR experts I trust, crisis situations share four basic elements.

1. The stakes are high — business or personal, it may seem like the world is falling apart
2. There is little time available to deliberate — the first 24 hours are crucial (they always call me a day late)
3. Characterized by great uncertainty — count on twists and turns
4. Involve a sense of narrowed options — it may seem like there is no way out, desperation can set in

“There’s always an opportunity with crisis. Just as it forces an individual to look inside himself, it forces a company to reexamine its policies and practices.” Judy A. Smith — crisis manager, lawyer, author, and television producer. Founder/CEO, crisis management firm Smith & Company. Her work in crisis management is the inspiration for the ABC television series Scandal.

While I am not equipped to provide counseling for personal hardships (my therapists would agree) I’ve spent three decades helping solve some of the most challenging — and sometimes bizarre — communications problems you could imagine. Most crisis communications clients tend to call us at least 24-hours late. The better situation is to plan for a crisis that will inevitably show up on your doorstep. Here’s where we start:

Three Step Pre-Crisis Planning

1. Identify Your Crisis Communications Team

2. Identify Spokespersons

3. Anticipate Crises: Be proactive, gather your Crisis Communications Team for brainstorming sessions on all potential crises that could occur at your organization.

Remember during your college-age-days that person who had a pickup truck? The person who was always being asked if someone could borrow their truck to move or haul something? Well, over the years, lots of people have asked to “borrow my pickup truck”; a lunch, after-work drink or just a phone call to ask advice on communication or public relations matters.

I’m filling the gas tank and unwrapping the Christmas tree deodorant. Looking forward to doing my part to bring a little calm and peace to a chaotic world.

Dan Parsons is a divorced, empty-nester father of 3; CEO of Parsons Public Relations, Inc. and host of the podcast Pints & Politics with Dan Parsons. Dan has spent the past 3 decades telling stories and managing crisis for political leaders, corporations, government agencies and dozens upon dozens of politicians, business executives and other Thought Leaders. Connect with him on Twitter @AskDanThePRMan