The Cost of Not Getting Better at Crisis Response

The cost of attending a conference is easy to see: registration, travel, and a few days away from the office and your inbox (which might be the best part).

The cost of not getting better at crisis response is harder to see – but it’s usually far higher. It shows up as delayed decisions, unclear roles, weak coordination, and communication breakdowns that turn a difficult moment into a much bigger business problem.

And this isn’t a rare risk. PwC’s Global Crisis and Resilience Survey (2023) found that 91% of organizations experienced at least one disruption (other than the pandemic) in the prior two years – an average of three and a half disruptions. More telling: 76% said their most serious disruption had a medium or high impact on operations.  What would that mean for your business?

At the same time, many organizations are more confident than they should be. In the same survey, PwC found that 70% of business leaders said they were confident in their ability to recover from disruptions, even though many lacked foundational elements of resilience. In a real incident, confidence won’t replace clear ownership, practiced coordination, or the ability to make decisions under pressure – across legal, communications, operations, HR, security, and executive leadership.

Cyber offers one of the clearest examples of what that gap can cost. IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report found the global average breach cost reached a record $4.88 million (up 10% year over year), and 70% of breached organizations reported the breach caused significant or very significant disruption. The lesson is bigger than cyber: preparation, integration, and practiced capability pay off.

That’s why ICMC Newport matters. This isn’t about collecting notes or checking a professional-development box. It’s about getting measurably better at how your organization prepares, responds, and leads when a real crisis hits, and the pressure is on.

The investment to improve is usually manageable. The cost of staying where you are often isn’t. If crisis readiness is part of your job, ICMC Newport belongs on your calendar. The conference is designed to help leaders and practitioners strengthen the fundamentals that matter most when pressure is high: clearer roles, faster decisions, stronger coordination, and more effective communication across the organization.

Register for ICMC Newport and bring back practical approaches you can put to work immediately, before the next disruption tests your team.