Blog · 6 min read

Crisis Playbooks: Running a GCC Through Global Shocks

By Anupam Tandon · September 2025

TL;DR

Shocks hit access, travel, demand, and morale. Pre-write decision rights and communication paths before you need them.

Crisis playbooks for GCC operators

Global shocks (health, geopolitics, cyber, demand crashes) hit captives through access, travel, vendor failure, and fear. The centers that hold up already know who decides what.

Pre-write

Decision rights for site closure, travel, and work-from-home shifts
Comms templates for employees and HQ
Access and continuity dependencies
Critical-person backups

During a shock

Stabilize people and access first
Tell HQ early with facts and options
Pause non-critical hiring theater
Capture lessons within two weeks after peak chaos

30 / 60 / 90

30: Draft a ten-page playbook maximum.
60: Tabletop with HQ and local leads.
90: Fix gaps; store where people can find it.

Takeaway

Crisis competence is designed in peacetime.

Improv is a last resort, not a plan.

“Structure matters, but the first three or four hires decide whether your India team becomes a capability or an expensive supplier.”
— Anupam Tandon, ContextDelta

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