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

The hidden cost of informal decision-making under pressure In many SMEs, there is an unspoken expectation that when something goes wrong, someone will “just handle it.” The phrase sounds reassuring. It signals confidence, experience, and decisiveness. It suggests the business is agile, not bureaucratic. In smaller teams especially, it feels efficient to rely on judgment rather than process. Until the moment it isn’t. “Just handle it” is not a strategy. It is a placeholder for