Authors: Bart Bruelmans, Bert Brugghemans, Ilse Van Mechelen
One of my former supervisors, who is very practical by nature, once said: “Nothing is as practical as a good theory.” This statement can be considered applicable to this book on crisis management.
In 116 pages, the authors develop a model that received the acronym IBOBBO. This stands for information gathering (which increasingly becomes information management), image formation, judgment formation, decision making, command, and finally, monitoring.
Each of these steps forms a chapter of the book, which is then completed with a chapter about what you can do in preparation. In each chapter of IBOBBO, attention is given to the strategic, tactical, and operational perspectives, so that there is useful information for every participant in a crisis, whether it is an exercise or a real crisis. Each chapter is concluded with a small number of succinct tips that the crisis manager should take to their own practice.
I do not know if every crisis can be addressed through the steps of IBOBBO, but the percentage to which it applies is undoubtedly very high. The system, introduced about 10 years ago by Chris Addiers, offers a practical solution to the previously invertebrate approach to crisis situations.
One of the best tips in the book for leaders in a crisis is to prepare a customized crisis worksheet. For examples of this, the authors refer to their website www.helpeencrisis.be. Another very useful tip is the use of a classic whiteboard to note the main points of a crisis (facts, decisions, to-dos, and general matters).
This book is recommended for every crisis manager who deals with the complexity of a real threat on a large or smaller scale.