Crisis Management
When money or time is running out, first you stop the cash drain and restore visibility. Then you look for the cause and choose a scenario. Sometimes the honest scenario is to close the business or a business line, and that too can be done with the least damage.
Common requests:A cash gap, Demand has dropped sharply, The team is firefighting, Continuing is expensive
Services in this area
2 services
01Crisis Management · 01
Crisis Management
The first 30 days of a crisis, in order: visibility of cash, stopping the outflow, holding on to what works, the cause and three scenarios.
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02Crisis Management · 02
Managed Business Closure
Closing a business or business line with the smallest losses to obligations, people, customers, assets and reputation. Partners handle the legal liquidation.
Learn moreWhat people come with
Does this sound familiar?
- A cash gap, and the date the money runs out is already visible or frighteningly unclear.Situation 01In a crisis, you buy time first.
- Demand has dropped sharply, a key customer has left, or key people have.Situation 02In a crisis, you buy time first.
- The team is firefighting, and nobody knows what matters most right now.Situation 03In a crisis, you buy time first.
- Continuing is expensive, closing is frightening, and the decision keeps being postponed.Situation 04In a crisis, you buy time first.
The core idea of this area
In a crisis, you buy time first.
The self-assessment for this area checks the cash horizon, the reliability of the numbers, the obligations and whether the crisis has an owner.
- 01Cash cycle
- 02Reliable records
- 03Management data
- 04Tax and legal risk
- 05Accountability
How we see it
In a crisis, the main mistake isn't a slow decision but a fast decision on the wrong problem. The first three days go to visibility: a 13-week payment calendar, a list of obligations, the date the money runs out.
Cutting before the picture is built is dangerous: marketing is usually cut first, and two months later the fall in revenue lands on top of the crisis. We cut by the rule of reversibility, and we talk to creditors first and with a plan.
When this area won't help
- We don't write a strategy in an acute crisis. The cash horizon first, strategy second.
- We don't sell "rescue at any cost". If the honest conclusion is closure or a sale, we'll say so.
- Without access to the real figures on cash and obligations, stabilization is impossible.
Three scenarios
By the end of the first month, the owner should have three scenarios with criteria for choosing between them: Recovery: the model works, and the event is external and finite. Rebuild: the model has stopped working, and there are resources for the transition. Managed exit: a sale, merger or closure, if the cost of continuing is higher than the cost of exiting.
The third scenario needs to be said out loud, even if it isn't chosen. A forbidden topic distorts the assessment of the other two.
Questions
When is it too late to reach out?
It's too late when decisions are postponed out of fear. The earlier you have an honest picture, the more scenarios remain under your control.
How quickly can we start?
Stabilization starts in the first days: a daily cash report, a payment calendar, a list of what we stop.
Do you only help to "rescue"?
No. Sometimes the honest conclusion is a sale or a closure. For a sale there is the Deals and Business Exit area; for a closure, the Managed Business Closure service.
Why can't we just cut costs?
You can, but by the rule of reversibility. The size of the expense line isn't what matters most here. Costs that hold up revenue and obligations are the most dangerous to cut. People come last: it's irreversible, and hiring back is expensive.
Related articles and case analyses
Crisis: the first 30 days
In a crisis, the main mistake isn't a slow decision but a fast decision on the wrong problem. This is the order of actions for the first month.
On what date will the money run out under the current scenario?
If you can't name it, you need to start today. We reply within 24 hours, and the first meeting is free.