I recently had a rather major crisis at work. Without going into any specific details, we were faced with a problem that, if not solved in 5 days, could have bankrupted a multi-million dollar company in a matter of months. Needless to say, every alarm went off, the troops were rallied, and everything was set aside to deal with the situation. We threw everything but the kitchen sink at it, miraculously made the deadline, and now things have gotten back to normal again. How we deal with crisis is one of the many things that separates good leaders from bad.

Worrying about a problem is justified. It stimulates you to action. It encourages you to do everything you can to solve it. Panicking about a problem is not. The difference? Panicked people delay working on a solution to their problem until the last minute. When they do act, it’s a knee jerk reaction that is just as (if not more) likely to cause more problems than they solve. Worried people take a long, hard look a the problem. They examine it from all angles. They do everything they can to understand the problem.

Understanding the problem is the first step in responding to it. Many times, this is where experience comes in. The best way to understand a problem is to have experienced it before. Failing that, studding and learning from those who have experienced it is a great place to start. In my case, neither were available – I’d never dealt with a problem like this and my friends in the industry, while sympathetic, had no real advice. The only thing left to do was to roll up my sleeves, jump in, and see what I could find out on my own.

In my case, the issue itself was easily solvable. The crisis arise from the fact that there was a giant roadblock in implementing that solution. The real problem wasn’t with the impending deadline – it was with finding a way to remove the roadblock in time to get the solution rolling in time to meet that deadline. Attempting to bulldoze my way through the roadblock would have been futile. With proper understanding, I was able to approach the problem from another angle which was ultimately successful.

But it wouldn’t have been successful without a series of plans. Plural. When dealing with a genuine crisis, you have to both be flexible and have a clear plan for how to handle the problem. This ability to shift gears throws many people, and it is especially problematic for politicians. When your every word is recorded and every plan scrutinized by media and the people, you tend to dig in your heels – justifiably or not – simply to appear stronger on an issue. Appearing inconsistent makes you seem incompetent. Appearing to change course makes you seem weak. Unfortunately, in a real crisis, new information, new hurtles, and new challenges mean that new and different approaches have to be worked out.

The key to handling this problem is to acknowledge that these sorts of things will happen – and the best way to deal with the unforeseen is to make contingency plans. When facing a crisis, I operate on the mantra, “This will work, but if it doesn’t…” and I never end that sentence with “… I’m done.”

I knew the simple solution to my problem from the get go. It was the problems to the solution that made it a crisis. The solution will work, but if it doesn’t, I’ll need to find a work around. The work around will work, but if it doesn’t, I need to find a better way to approach the problem. If I can’t find a better way to approach the problem, I need to plan for the problem to occur. The problem won’t occur, but if it does, I need to find a way to minimize the impact. The worst won’t happen, but if it does, I need to start finding ways to deal with that.

That week I twittered, “Contingency planning is the morphine of crisis management. It doesn’t solve the problem, but it sure takes the edge off,” and I don’t think I could possibly have phrased it any better. Work to find a solution, and prepare for that solution to not work. If you do both with great vigor, you will either solve the problem or you’ll minimize the damage. That is the essence of crisis management.

Even if the unthinkable happens, having a plan makes it easier to handle. At worst, it gives you a place to start and a direction to head. If you know what you’re doing, you might even be able to avert the majority of the damage. Even when bad things happen you have to act to pick up the pieces.

Knowing how to deal with crisis is a skill everyone needs – not just politicians and corporate executives. Certainly our leaders in Washington and the corporate umbra need a refresher course, desperately, but today this is a broader lesson.

When faced with a crisis:

1) Don’t panic. Okay, your car isn’t running. It happens. Calm down.

2) Figure out what’s really wrong. If it were as easy as it looked, it wouldn’t be a crisis. Turning the key is supposed to start your car. It’s not working. There’s obviously a deeper problem. Are you out of gas? Do you need a jump? Do you know the difference? Can you call someone who does?

3) Do everything you can to remove the roadblocks keeping your solution from working. Create a mental checklist and start ticking off items. So your battery seems dead. Get a jump. If that doesn’t work, scrape the corrosion off the leads and tighten the cables. Maybe that will fix it.

4) Figure out what your next step will be, regardless if you succeed or fail. Work on contingency plans. Call a friend and get them on the way, even if you’re sure you can flag someone down on the highway. If your friend can’t help you, get the number for a tow truck and be prepared to call them.

5) Even if everything goes horribly wrong, don’t stop working to pick up the pieces. You car still won’t start. Don’t buy a new one. Take it to a mechanic. Yeah, its expensive, but it’s far cheaper to fix what you have than to throw everything out and start over again.

Breathe. Think. Act.

Don’t panic.