Chapter-by-Chapter: Your Guide to Business Crisis Management

In the Introduction, Marcos Duarte Rivero establishes the foundation of his innovative approach—applying emergency medicine principles to business crises. He introduces the ABCDE framework (Airway/Cash Flow, Breathing/Operations, Circulation/Revenue, Disability/Decision-Making, Exposure/External Factors) and explains the concept of the "Golden Hour" in business emergencies, where your initial response often determines whether your company survives or fails. Readers will understand why traditional business advice fails during emergencies and how a systematic approach to crisis management dramatically improves survival rates.

This chapter reveals the critical mental shift required to transform from a traditional business thinker to an effective crisis responder. Readers will discover how emergency response thinking differs from normal business thinking in five key areas: time perspective, information gathering, action prioritization, risk assessment, and leadership style. Through a compelling restaurant crisis case study, the author demonstrates how this mindset works in practice, showing how a restaurant owner successfully handled an unexpected staffing emergency by applying emergency response principles.

Just as a blocked airway is immediately life-threatening regardless of other vital signs, cash flow problems can kill even the most promising business. This chapter provides specific protocols for the first 15 minutes, first hour, and first day of a cash flow crisis. It includes a revealing case study of a growing tech startup that couldn't make payroll despite strong sales, showing exactly how they averted disaster through immediate, systematic response. You'll also learn prevention strategies to build financial resilience before crises strike.

When core operations fail, your business cannot "breathe" properly. This chapter teaches you how to maintain essential functions during crises, with detailed response protocols for operational emergencies. Through a manufacturing line failure case study, readers see how one company quickly restored production while implementing systemic improvements to prevent future breakdowns. The prevention section provides practical approaches to identifying operational vulnerabilities before they create emergencies.

Revenue is the lifeblood that circulates resources throughout your business. This chapter offers systematic approaches to addressing sudden revenue disruptions, with specific timelines for immediate response, tactical initiatives, and strategic recovery. The retail chain case study demonstrates how one company effectively countered an aggressive competitive threat by focusing on differentiation rather than simply matching discounts. You'll gain actionable strategies for both responding to revenue crises and building more resilient revenue streams.

Even with cash, operations, and revenue intact, impaired decision-making can paralyze your entire organization. This chapter explains how to recognize and address decision breakdowns, with protocols for restoring effective leadership function during crises. The technology company case study reveals how one leadership team overcame analysis paralysis during market disruption by implementing a structured decision framework. You'll learn specific approaches to strengthen your organization's decision capability before emergencies occur.

Like environmental conditions affecting patients, market forces can threaten even the healthiest business. This chapter provides frameworks for responding to external threats, from competitive disruptions to regulatory changes. The regional retailer case study shows how one company successfully adapted to e-commerce competition by emphasizing local advantages rather than trying to match the giant's tactics. The prevention section teaches systematic approaches to environmental scanning and strategic flexibility.

When multiple emergencies strike simultaneously, you must determine which demands immediate attention and which can wait. This chapter introduces the START framework for business triage, helping you categorize crises based on survival impact, time sensitivity, action effectiveness, resource requirements, and team capacity. Through a manufacturing company case study facing three simultaneous crises, you'll see exactly how to prioritize response when everything seems critical.

Moving beyond basic crisis response, this chapter shows how to build sophisticated monitoring and support systems that maintain organizational health under challenging conditions. The technology company resilience case study demonstrates how integrated early warning systems and automated response protocols prevented a potential component shortage from becoming a major crisis. You'll learn practical steps to create similar capabilities in your organization regardless of size.

After surviving a crisis, proper rehabilitation prevents relapse and builds new strength. This chapter outlines a three-phase recovery program that systematically rebuilds capabilities while preventing setbacks. The software company recovery case study shows how one organization not only recovered from near-death but emerged stronger by transforming crisis lessons into competitive advantages. You'll gain practical rehabilitation strategies adaptable to businesses of any size.

The best crisis strategy is prevention. This final chapter provides comprehensive frameworks for monitoring business vital signs and addressing problems before they become emergencies. The global manufacturing prevention case study reveals how one company transformed from crisis-prone to crisis-resistant through systematic monitoring, stress testing, and scenario planning. You'll learn specific prevention practices that reduce crisis frequency while creating competitive advantages through greater stability and agility.

The book concludes by helping readers identify their organization's specific health patterns and critical indicators. Just as every patient has unique vital signs, every business has particular metrics that best predict its health status. You'll understand how to develop customized monitoring systems and emergency protocols tailored to your specific business model, industry characteristics, and organizational structure.