Ready for Anything When disaster strikes, how you prepare could make or break how you come out on the other side By M. Diane McCormick N o crisis-response plan can anticipate every eventuality. The COVID-19 pandemic taught that lesson the hard way. The plans that hold up are the ones designed to go with the flow. "Just be ever-learning," said Jeremy Henry, director of operations at Wichita, Kansas-based BG Products Inc. "The key to any company during any crisis is the ability to stay flexible and pivot." In lubricant manufacturing, day-to-day safety is a workplace mainstay. But how successfully do companies anticipate disaster? Businesses that survive are those that infuse preparedness into the company culture long before a crisis arrives. 18 JUNE 2020 | COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG A Living Document At BG Products, Henry got the task of updating a crisismanagement plan that was laid out on a website. In the years after the site's launch, the plan remained functional but had moved through multiple hands. Working with outside consultants and internal staff, Henry led an effort to make the site more educational and aligned with integrated contingency plans. The process revealed the importance of regular updates to vital data such as contact information for local authorities, community leaders and partner companies.http://www.ILMA.ORG