I have danced ballet most of my life. It’s the one thing I keep coming back to but I now live somewhere where there are not many options for ballet. Barre is o.k. Pilates is great. I was once kicked out of a yoga class for tapping my fingers. Nothing is ballet.
So besides naturally standing in first position, I have slacked off. I haven’t actively been tending to my fitness, my flexibility or coordination. All of these must be invested in to maintain your health. Actively invested in maintaining.
I can’t touch my toes right now – that is my COST of INACTION.
I first heard this term a few months ago when someone was talking about longevity. The cost of inaction is the cost of staying on your current trajectory – taking no action. In the investment for longevity, doing nothing doesn’t maintain the status quo. Inaction contributes to weight gain, aches and pains and other ailments, which is actually a downward trajectory.
Taking action is prevention. Taking action is actually working to maintain the status quo.
The same holds true for crisis preparation and actively leveling up your organization in your crisis readiness. And when it comes to an organization that doesn’t do that, inaction is definitely costly. Not taking action leads to a stale team, outdated policies, and complacency in spotting the pitfalls ahead among many other effects.
The cost of inaction in crisis management is damage — costly damage. The opposite of inaction is active prevention. That’s an investment.
Just because you don’t change how you act, doesn’t mean what comes at you isn’t changing. If you are doing the same thing over and over, you won’t be ready for the crisis 5.0 that is going to hit you.
And you won’t be able to touch your toes.
What do you do to guard against the Cost of Inaction? What do you wish you still did?
Need help? Kith facilitates crisis preparedness workshops that will help your company attain the clarity, trust and speed you need to respond confidently – no dithering! – to any crisis. We’d be happy to have a conversation about how we can help your company be ready to chart an effective course to reputation protection.
