There are four factors that establish just how big a crisis you've got on your hands:
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Size. How big is it - is it likely to wipe you out or merely stress you out?
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Control. How much influence do you have over it - some or little?
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Time. How much time do you have to do something about it - some or none?
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Options. What are your choices - how many escape routes and how good are they?
Pre-crisis stage
Non-performance. Someone isn't getting the job done. There are initial small failures. They're overlooked.
Denial. The problem is recognised but its seriousness isn't.
Persistence. The problem doesn't go away and the errors begin to mount. There may be some concern but it's still not registering.
Crisis stage
Failure. This is devastating and is there for all to see. The impact of failure on an organisation can be calamitous: employees are stunned and morale plunges; customers lose confidence; politicians go on the warpath; managers are stressed out; a remorseless media moves in for the kill.
Panic.
Fear and anger set in: there seems no structured response; there is no logic; answers are hard to find; events are out of control; personal survival becomes paramount.
Collapse. People's best is not enough as the situation heads for total collapse. Everyone begins to give up on the organisation: public, media, employees, customers, politicians, suppliers.
Post-crisis stage
Shock. People are immobilised by the enormity of what has occurred.
Uncertainty. There is much indecision about what to do next. Things are never the same again.
Change. There is no crisis without change.