Todays business environment requires a robust and enterprise-wide plan to deal with unexpected crises. Crisis management, a relatively new field, is the overall coordination of an organizations quick response to a crisis, with the goal of avoiding damage to the organizations profitability, reputation and ability to operate. From an organizations point of view, crisis management is also referred to as `Managing in troubled times. An effective crisis management program should always be consistent with the organizations mission. Crises require fast and sound decision-making. At the helm, leaders play a strategic role in organizational sustainability to support crisis management. To manage troubled times, companies spanning across industries adopt common strategies that fall under three broad disciplines Operational, Product, and Intimacy. Successful crises management or managing troubled times makes a big difference to any organization.

Crisis management is a relatively new field of management. Crisis management is broadly defined as an organization's pre-established activities and guidelines for responding to catastrophic events like earthquakes and storms, or incidents like workplace violence, kidnappings, bomb threats and acts of terrorism in an effective manner. It is the overall coordination of an organization's prompt response to a crisis, with the goal of avoiding or minimizing damage to the organization's profitability, reputation, or ability to operate. It often includes strong focus on public relations to undo the damage to public image and assure the stakeholders that recovery is in progress. From an organization's point of view, crisis management is also referred to as `Managing in troubled times'.

In a comprehensive `Business Continuity Plan', any business could be subject to certain extreme circumstances. Indeed, the business will be in crisis. Crises can strike any company at any time. Microsoft, ValueJet, Chrysler, and Pepsi are some of the major companies that testify to this fact. Crises do not discriminate between companies on the basis of their size or reputation and can hit a company when it least expects them. The healthiest looking companies are often to get into troubles. Delighted with the company's financial results, the shareholders or the management themselves would like to grow further. Similarly, competitors would also think in the same way. These competitive pressures could lead the weak companies to a downturn.

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