The Agony of Decision: Mental Readiness and Leadership in a Crisis

by Helio Fred Garcia

The Agony of Decision was named one of the Best Crisis Management Books of All Time by Book Authority, the world's leading site for nonfiction recommendations. Book Authority had previously named the it one of the Best New Crisis Management Books of 2018.This book is about how leaders and the organizations they lead can maintain reputation, trust, confidence, financial and operational strength, and competitive advantage in a crisis. First, by thinking clearly; second by making smart choices; and third by executing those choices effectively. But making smart choices in a crisis can be agonizing.The difference between leaders who handle crises well and those who handle crises poorly is mental the ability some leaders exhibit that allows them to make smart choices quickly in a crisis. And this ability creates real competitive advantage.One of the predictable patterns of crisis response is that the severity of the crisis event does not determine whether an organization and its leader get through a crisis effectively. Indeed, two organizations, similarly situated, can see dramatically different outcomes based on the quality and timeliness of their individual responses to the crisis events. And the ability to respond effectively in a timely way is a consequence of mental readiness. This book is for leaders of organizations who need to be good stewards of reputation, trust, and confidence; and for those who advise those leaders, whether in public relations, or law, or other business disciplines.Author Helio Fred Garcia harvests insights from more than 35 years of working on, studying, and teaching about thousands of crises affecting companies, governments, NGOs, and other organizations. Garcia is the Executive Director of the Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership. He has advised clients in dozens of countries on six continents. For more than 30 years Garcia has been on the New York University faculty, where he teaches crisis management in the Executive MBA program of the Stern School of Business, and crisis communication in the MS in Public Relations and Corporate Communication of the School of Professional Studies. In both programs he has received awards for teaching excellence. He also teaches ethics, crisis, and leadership at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.He has also taught crisis on the faculties of other universities in California, Switzerland, and China. Through Logos Institute contracts he has taught at yet other universities and specialized professional schools in the U.S., including a number affiliated with the U.S. armed forces. He has guest lectured at dozens of universities around the world.

252 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2017

Reviews

[Matias Myllyrinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quick piece on crisis management and communications. Nothing earth shattering but a great reminder and worth the short time.

[Nollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It has good overall general crisis strategy and crisis communications thoughts, but I would love to read an update with some more current examples. The book was written in 2017, but a lot of the examples are from the late 90s and early 2000s. A time when the mainstream media were the main sources of information and critique. Would love to hear with social media and the diffuse new sources of information, how he would guide companies through crisis management. I think a lot of the principles would be the same, but there are definitely tweaks that I think would be relevant.

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best public affairs and crisis communication book I have read. I want to mass purchase this and slip it onto the desks of my leaders. It’s digestible, impactful and logical. I think I recommended it to 10 people before I even finished this book. Thank you Helio Fred Garcia for coming to speak to ANG PA practitioners at McGhee-Tyson in 2019!

[saramo2011 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving it three stars, not because it wasn’t good- it was. I just think he has better books, and this book draws some of the same material from those.

[Pdaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource with practical steps to leading, thinking and communicating in crisis. The last chapter is all you really need to read to get the main points.

[Cathy O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. Timeless advice. The narrator mispronounced some names.