Have a plan to avoid crises and survive if they arise.

Frequent air travelers have heard the refrain many times.  Put your own oxygen mask on before helping those around you .  It makes a lot of sense.  Get yourself to a place of safety, and then you can be more effective in helping others.  But how does this work in real life?  Picture this.  You are traveling with a small child.  Without warning there is a loud bang and cabin pressure evaporates.  You are at 30,000 feet.  Oxygen is scarce. People are screaming and debris is flying around the cabin.  The cabin crew are either clearly stressed out,  pre-occupied with the current crisis, or they are completely absent .  The public address system is imploring everyone to secure their seat belts and follow safety protocols.  The noise is defining.  Panic is at the edge of your soul and demanding entry.  Do you follow the logic and take care of yourself, or do you instinctively move to care for you child?  Those of us who are parents know, or at least we hope, that our first instinct would be to protect our child.  But our first instinct would be the wrong choice.  In our panic induced and oxygen deprived state there is a high likelihood that we would not provide the correct assistance to our child thereby putting them at further risk.  The reality is that if the child passes out from a lack of oxygen and then is quickly and correctly provided with a good oxygen supply, he or she will likely revive.  On the other hand, if they are already oxygen depleted and receive and inadequate supply of oxygen because the adult with them was incapable of providing them the correct assistance, it is likely their condition worsens.  In the mean-time, the one person they count on for calm collected decision making is, themselves, fast becoming hypoxic and unable to assist themselves, let alone their child.

We travelled a lot when I was a child.  My dad always impressed upon us what to do in an emergency.  Do you know where the exits are? Do you know how the oxygen masks work, do you know where you are going and what you are going to do in a crisis?  How many seat rows between you and the exit row? If it is dark and the cabin is filled with smoke and you are filled with fear, will you be able to find the exit? He mapped out for us a course of action, a strategy,  in the hope that we could avoid a crisis or at lease survive if a crisis occurred.

This mentality is important not only in flight, but in life and in business.  Do you have a plan?  Do you have someone who has drilled you and your team about what to do and how to act in a crisis? Do you have someone who has had you map out the escape route and think through the course of action to be taken?  Are you sure you will put on your own Oxygen mask before trying to help those around you?  In short.  Have you had someone guiding you , teaching you and instructing you just as my father drilled us on how to act in the event of an in flight crisis?

In a crisis, action without prior planning can be disastrous.  True- it is often better than no action - However, action with prior planning is infinitely wiser.  The assistance of a trusted advisor can help identify the right course of action and ensure that you have planned a way out of a crisis.  Such an advisor can help minimize the panic, and the poor decision making that often comes with it.  This, in turn, will help ensure that you , your loved ones and your business survive the turmoil.

Do not trust your instincts in an emergency.  They will often be wrong.  Rather, seek solid, competent advice from people you trust and who know the particulars of your situation before the crisis so that you can see the path through the crisis.   In business, that trusted partner is often a lawyer.  At best it is a lawyer who is integrated into the team, who has got to know your core business objectives, who knows what is important to you and your business,  who knows where you want your business to go.  Having an attorney acting as a trusted advisor for your business before a crisis hits is like having a neighbor who has his oxygen mask in place and has already mapped out an exit strategy.  It is someone who can help you avoid a crisis or, at least survive in the event a crisis occurs. 

Maughan Law Group  LC provides out-sourced general counsel services to small / medium sized businesses. Our mission is to provide custom legal advice, counseling and guidance which is integrated with our clients’ strategic business objectives.  This allows our clients to focus on business, helps them avoid crises or survive them if they do occur.