Crisis Leadership: Planning for the Unthinkable

By Ian Mitroff, Ph.D

From product defects to environmental disasters--almost every day a new corporate crisis hits the headlines—and in most cases, the results are disastrous. According to Mitroff, this signals the need for crisis leadership. In this book, Mitroff focuses on the need to prevent a crisis before it occurs, rather than merely put the best possible spin on the aftermath. He shares the factors and forces to be considered to implement effective, proactive leadership, and shows how various corporate functions can interact to respond to crises and minimize their occurrence. In addition, he discusses the role of emotional IQ in handling, responding to and preparing for a crisis.

Z359 Fall Protection Code

ANSI/ASSE Z359, the national voluntary consensus fall protection equipment standard for general industry, is considered a benchmark standard, one that has been incorporated into many industrial fall protection programs. It was last updated in 1999, and then only with minor editorial revisions. The five new standards -- included in the Z359 Fall Protection Code -- contain many important new requirements.

ANSI/ASSE Z359: A Family of Standards

The scope of ANSI/ASSE Z359 has expanded beyond fall arrest into other work applications. The five standards encompassed by the new Code continue to adhere to the “systems approach” of the original 1992 edition:

• Z359.0: Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest
• Z359.1: Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems and Components
• Z359.2: Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program
• Z359.3: Safety Requirements for Positioning and Travel Restraint Systems
• Z359.4: Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems and Components

Leading Quietly

By Joseph Badaracco

Most of us think of leaders as courageous risk takers, orchestrators of major events. In a word: heroes. Although such figures are inspiring, Joseph Badaracco argues that their larger-than-life accomplishments are not what makes the world work. What does, he says, is the sum of millions of small yet consequential decisions that individuals working far from the limelight make every day. Badaracco calls them "quiet leaders"--people who choose responsible, behind-the-scenes action over public heroism to resolve tough leadership challenges. Quiet leaders don't fit the stereotype of the bold and gutsy leader, and they don't want to. What they want is to do the "right thing"--for their organizations, their coworkers, and themselves--but inconspicuously and without casualties. Drawing from extensive research, Badaracco presents eight practical yet counterintuitive guidelines for situations in which right and wrong seem like moving targets. Compelling stories illustrate how these "nonheroes" succeed by managing their political capital, buying themselves time, bending the rules, and more. From the executive suite to the office cubicle--Leading Quietly shows how patient, everyday efforts can add up to a better company and a better world.