If death and taxes are the only sure-fire things in life, then the only certainty in business is that one day things will go wrong. If you’re lucky it needn’t be a catastrophe, but when you first start up a business, one of your priorities has got to be emergency planning.
Put a disaster recovery plan in place that fits your situation: in case supply lines are cut, a hurricane hits or other natural catastrophe looms. Because if disaster strikes, rest assured that a lot of people are going to be looking to you for answers.
On 23 February 2007, at around 8.15 p.m. we were hit with our first real emergency. One of Virgin Rail’s new Pendolino tilting trains had derailed in the north-west of England, on a remote part of the West Coast Main Line. Margaret Masson, an elderly passenger, was badly thrown around in the coach as the train slid along the railbed and then careered down a steep embankment.
For ten years, Virgin Trains had safely carried millions of passengers all over Britain. Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, had flown tens of millions of customers around the globe without a single injury. That night, life changed for all of us at Virgin. Margaret Masson was dead. Several other people were seriously hurt.
I was on a family ski trip in Zermatt, Switzerland, when I received a text message that said there had been a rail accident. After speaking to Tony Collins, the chief executive of Virgin Trains, I hired a car and drove through the night to Zurich, where I got the first flight out at 6.30 a.m.
When I arrived in Manchester that morning, the BBC was reporting that the train was intact, and that had helped to save many lives. That was heartening: all our new trains had been built like tanks for this very reason. A later report, which was confirmed, suggested that a rail track was responsible for the accident due to track failure. Twenty-four people were taken to hospital.
I met Margaret Masson’s family in the mortuary at the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire. They were clearly devastated, and I offered them my condolences. We found ourselves hugging each other.
Soon I was facing a barrage of television cameras and a pack of journalists who wanted answers. I thought I was going to choke up. I came very close, but kept it together and stuck to the facts as we knew them. At the time, ahead of the official accident investigation findings, there wasn’t much I could say other than sorrys and thank yous. I expressed my gratitude to the train driver, Iain Black, who had stayed in his seat at the front of the train as it crashed, doing everything he could to save his passengers, and in the process sustained serious injuries. Our other employees on board had all behaved in an exemplary fashion, ignoring their own minor injuries in order to lead customers to safety.
Why were we able to react so quickly? When Virgin Trains was putting its emergency procedures in place, we had analysed a number of serious rail incidents and had been appalled by the length of time that usually passed before anyone in charge started speaking to the press. Confusion and then blame set in quickly as anxious people waited to find out what had happened and why.
So our disaster planning had prepared us to accomplish three main goals: get senior people to the scene as quickly as possible; be efficient in dealing with the passengers, staff and media; and be honest about what was happening. We knew that those first steps would get communications established so that everyone-passengers, staff and the media-would be able to obtain the information they needed. Even if there was nothing to report, someone had to report it!
Beyond disasters and accidents, as you forge a new path, finding growth areas and innovative solutions to your clients’ problems, it’s inevitable that you and your team will make mistakes. It is important to recognise this and ensure that everyone in the company is prepared for the worst.
This is one of the reasons you should be keeping the press up to date on what you’re doing. Aside from maintaining a high profile for your company, it may someday help journalists put any bad news in context.
Which brings me to the difficult balance that all entrepreneurs and CEOs need to learn how to maintain: always protect your reputation, yet don’t be afraid of making mistakes. These rules ought not to contradict each other, but they often do. I’ve known plenty of talented and trustworthy people whose careers have been damaged by the shadow of past errors, and who have suffered professionally as a result. If you or someone in your company has made a serious mistake, don’t be afraid to ask the senior figures in your circle for advice and help. Distinguished people are often generous and understanding, to a fault. (They’ve been through the mill; they know what life is like.)
Investigate the matter thoroughly; if you can, try to pinpoint where your internal processes failed. During this period, do not keep your head down-that will do you no good at all. Instead, communicate openly with the press and keep them up to date.
Next, apologise. Explain what happened, express your regret and describe what steps you have taken to correct the situation. While some will call for the chief executive’s head on a spike I do not think a CEO is always obliged to fall on his sword in most such cases.
Like the Boy Scouts’, your company motto should be ‘Be Prepared’.