How a Crisis Differs from an Emergency

by Rick Brenner

We often use the terms crisis and emergency interchangeably. But a distinction is useful in project work.

lthough we often use the terms crisis and emergency interchangeably in casual conversation, their meanings are not identical. In this discussion, I'd like to draw a useful distinction between them, based on their dictionary definitions. According to Merriam-Webster:

• A crisis is "an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending, especially one with a distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome."
• An emergency is "an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action."

The element that distinguishes the two is immediacy. An emergency is acute — the undesirable outcome is here, right now. Immediate action is required. A crisis may also call for action, but the purpose of the action is to prevent a possible outcome.

For example, in 1998, we lived in the context of the Year 2000 software crisis, which did not develop into an emergency.     Top