If you think the same management techniques that allow you to win at business will enable you to weather a crisis, you are doomed. In a crisis, emotions run high, people revert to habits instead of the plan, information travels quickly—whether it is accurate or not—and the effects of your decisions can be long-lived. Don’t allow the crisis management plan sitting on your shelf to give you a false sense of confidence. Read Crisis Ready and then get to work at making crisis management muscle memory for your organization.—David Struhs, Vice President, Domtar, Corporate Services and Sustainability 

Melissa Agnes gets it! Preparedness—or being ready—is the key to crisis management. In business, as in life, a crisis never gives us advance notice of when and where it will show up—and its ripple effects can reach far into the deep corners of the entire organization. Agnes teaches us that the key to dealing with a crisis is to anticipate all the places it can strike, and then go there and lie in wait with a plan. Shame on you if you are surprised by a crisis!—Shelby Yastrow, Retired General Counsel, Executive Vice President and Secretary of McDonald’s

Intelligent. Intuitive. Unabashedly gutsy. Melissa Agnes dismantles crisis clichés, shakes you awake, and takes you on a compelling and insightful journey that will ensure your organization is crisis ready.—Scot Wheeler, Retired Global Director of Issues Management and Crisis Communications, The Dow Chemical Company

Every business of any size needs to read Crisis Ready. Melissa Agnes demonstrates why she is a leading authority on timely, intelligent, and appropriate management and communications in moments of crisis. If United Airlines had read this book in 2009, my United Breaks Guitars YouTube video would never have happened. I’m almost glad she hadn’t written it yet.—Dave Carroll, Singer-songwriter, speaker, and creator of United Breaks Guitars 

Speaking as a communications professional, there is no one better at crisis communications than Melissa Agnes. She has a calm and patient way of looking at the entire picture, assessing the challenge, and providing recommendations that work in less time than it takes you to say “crisis communications.” With case studies, homework, rules, and tests, you will find yourself ready to handle anything by the end of the book. Read it, absorb it, take lots of notes, and create your crisis preparedness program.—Gini Dietrich , CEO of Arment Dietrich, founder and author of Spin Sucks 

The speed of a crisis in the digital age can quickly overwhelm organizations ill-prepared with outdated strategies centered around press releases and bureaucratic layers of approvals for communication. Crisis Ready serves as a strategic blueprint to help organizations prepare for and successfully navigate turmoil, all while building trust and confidence with their stakeholders.—Captain Chris Hsiung, Law Enforcement Executive 

The ultimate guide to doing things before it all goes wrong. Every businessperson should have a copy of Crisis Ready on their desk.—Jay Baer, Founder of Convince & Convert, author of Hug Your Haters