According to radical interpretations of the Mayan Calendar, December 21, 2012, is doomsday, the end of the world, goodnight. But if you’re planning on sticking around for December 22, you can seek comfort and enlightenment in Wikipedia. Apocalypse or not, there’s no denying that over the last three years, the world has stumbled from one crisis to the next.

First came the downfall of Lehman, which nearly brought the global monetary system to its knees. Next we had act one of the Greek debt debacle. Then it was back to the US and the downgrade of its debt. And now the storm clouds are gathering over Europe again, and we’re left wondering whether the entire Eurozone is about to implode. But what has any of this got to do with communication? A lot. Communicating to an audience during times of uncertainty will mean having to rethink our toolkit significantly. We will have to be candid, consistent and clear – perhaps more so than we feel comfortable with today. But that’s just the start. Above all, we will have to be generously useful (or usefully generous, if you prefer) to an extent that we might find downright frightening today. But in crisis there is opportunity. An opportunity to be a leader.