Why escalation is about timing, not panic—and clarity, not control Escalation has a reputation problem. In many organisations, escalation is associated with failure. It is what happens when something has gone wrong, when control has been lost, or when someone is about to be blamed. As a result, people hesitate. They delay. They try to contain issues quietly, hoping they will resolve on their own. By the time escalation happens, it is often already too late. Good escalation do

And why clarity of authority matters more than completeness of process Most businesses have Standard Operating Procedures. They are written carefully, approved formally, and stored somewhere accessible. They remind staff what should happen, in what order, and who is responsible at each step. On paper, they signal preparedness. And then stress enters the system: An incident occurs. A customer escalates. A staff member is injured. A regulator appears without warning. A parent t