Crisis Management
A sharp young executive was tapped to succeed a long-serving CEO at a large corporation. On his last afternoon in the corner office, the outgoing CEO invited his replacement in for a bit of advice.
“This job will test you in ways you can’t imagine,” he said with a grin. “When you hit a wall—one of those crises you can’t see your way out of—I’ve left you three numbered envelopes in the top drawer of this desk. Open them in order, one crisist at a time.”
The new CEO thanked him, feeling both amused and a little curious. For months, everything went beautifully. Sales were strong, morale was high, and he started to think the envelopes were just a funny old tradition.
Then came the first big blow: a product launch flopped, investors panicked, and the stock nosedived. He sat in his office late one night, staring at that desk drawer, and finally gave in. He opened Envelope #1.
Inside was a single line: “Blame the previous administration.”
So he did. At the next board meeting, he calmly explained that the issue stemmed from decisions made before his tenure. It worked—the headlines softened, confidence returned, and life went on.
A couple of years later, another storm rolled in. A messy accounting scandal broke out, and the media pounced. Remembering the envelopes, he reached for the second one. It read: “Announce a major reorganization.”
He jumped into action, restructuring departments, promoting new faces, and giving interviews about “fresh leadership.” Once again, the crisis faded. He felt like he was getting the hang of this.
But time has a way of humbling even the confident. Nearly two years later, a brutal recession hit. The company’s numbers collapsed, layoffs loomed, and he was out of ideas. In a haze of exhaustion, he opened the final envelope.
It said: “Start writing three envelopes.”
