All large businesses get hit by crises on a regular basis.  It is a fact of life. And the larger the organisation, the more frequently they happen.  Every employee is an ethical risk of some kind.  Every business unit contains perhaps hundreds of risks. Combinations of risks are far more common than most people imagine.  Risk management means taking steps to reduce impact of future events, contingency planning, thinking ahead. A crisis provides an ideal opportunity to re-focus on what you are doing across the busines. Here are 16 steps to take when crisis occurs…

Number of customers in each market, niche markets, targeting client groups. How demographics has impacted the pensions industry, life products, sales in Europe, UK, Spain, Japan, Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina.

Low birth rate in China and high birth rate in India means different societies, different sales patterns. Young or old populations, population growth -- all these things profoundly affect your business....

Use of smartphones in ecommerce, in retail transactions and wireless payment systems in shops, shopping malls and other stores. Future of banking, financial services and telecommunications. Changes in consumer behavior, customer choice and financial industry regulation.

Telecom industry will become banks, and banks will become phone companies. Convergence of retail, financial services, insurance, phones and other mobile devices. ...