When the World Changes
Strategic Surprise and Crisis Leadership Inside the White House Situation Room on 9/11
Between Chaos and Calm
Leadership Lessons When Crisis Strikes
By Gordon Ho and Rob Hargis
Between Chaos and Calm explores how leaders prepare for crises, manage through them, and recover afterward.
The Definitive Crisis Playbook
Between Chaos and Calm takes readers behind the scenes of eight defining crises of our time—from the White House Situation Room on 9/11 to the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship, from Boeing's 737 MAX failures to The Sony Pictures Nation-State Cyberattack.
Through the lens of the PMR (Prepare-Manage-Recover) framework, Gordon Ho and Rob Hargis deliver actionable insights for leaders facing high-stakes situations.
The Eight Crises
Quarantine at Sea
Leadership Under Pressure During the Diamond Princess COVID-19 Crisis
Sony Pictures vs North Korea
A Movie About Killing a Dictator Nearly Took Down a Studio
When Culture Compromises Trust
Wells Fargo and the Fake Accounts Scandal
When Speed Outruns Safety
Boeing 737 Max and the Cost of a “Minor” Change
The Magic Pipe
Caribbean Princess and Environmental Violations at Sea
When the First Fix Failed
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and the Recall Crisis
The Last Flights Out
Evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan
The Authors
Gordon Ho
Gordon Ho is a Professor of Practice at the USC Marshall School of Business, where he teaches product, risk, and crisis management. He previously served as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Sales at Princess Cruises and held senior leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company.
Rob Hargis
Rob Hargis brings experience in national security, intelligence, technology, complex operations, the White House Situation Room, and the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Praise for Between Chaos and Calm
“Rob Hargis and Gordon Ho have excelled at the epicenter of crisis management in America’s top corporate boardrooms and the White House Situation Room. Those indelible experiences have been distilled into invaluable lessons for anyone facing challenging decisions in a high pressure environment.”
What Leaders Are Saying
“Between Chaos and Calm captures the complexity of leadership when the stakes are highest and investigates the frameworks, habits, and relationships that mitigate harm and support long-term recovery, not only for the institution itself, but for vulnerable families and communities.”
Lisa Clements
CEO, Kidspace Children’s Museum
“Having served in the White House Situation Room, I know that crises rarely unfold according to plans, organizational charts, or assumptions. They demand disciplined preparation, sound judgment, trusted teams, and leaders capable of adapting faster than events around them. What makes Between Chaos and Calm especially valuable is its ability to connect lessons from some of our nation’s most consequential crises with challenges faced by leaders in business and government every day. The result is a compelling and highly practical examination of what effective leadership looks like when circumstances are at their most difficult.”
The Honorable John B. Sherman
Dean, Texas A&M Bush School of Government and Public Service; Former Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Defense
“Crisis is never the time to build trust, systems, or decision discipline. Through real-world cases, this must-read book provides leaders with a clear framework for preparing before the moment arrives.”
The Honorable William Evanina
Former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; Founder of the Evanina Group, LLC
“As a key whistleblower in the Theranos scandal, I saw firsthand what happens when warning signals go unheard. I wish executives and young employees alike could have leveraged the tools in this book to navigate the pressure, ambiguity, and fear that arise in a crisis before it ever reaches the headlines. Between Chaos and Calm is a rare crisis book taking an insider perspective and should be required reading for anyone who leads.”
Erika Cheung
Theranos Whistleblower; Co-Founder, Ethics in Entrepreneurship
“Building companies has taught me that uncertainty is unavoidable, but being unprepared is not. Between Chaos and Calm gives leaders a practical way to think about crisis before, during, and after it happens. Ho and Hargis offer grounded, memorable lessons for founders, CEOs, and leadership teams responsible for making hard decisions when people are counting on them.”
Brian Lee
Co-Founder, Arena Club, LegalZoom, and The Honest Co.
“Building a company taught me that trust, culture, and preparation are tested most when pressure is highest. Between Chaos and Calm gives leaders a practical and deeply human framework for making decisions, communicating clearly, and protecting people when the unexpected happens.”
Ellen Chen
Co-Founder, Mendocino Farms
“Crisis leadership begins long before the crisis. Planning, preparation, asking ‘What if?’, rehearsing, and adapting are essential, even when we cannot know what is coming. Between Chaos and Calm brings these principles to life through real-world crises and hard-earned lessons for leaders who must be ready when the stakes are highest.”
Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spicer, USN (Ret.)
CEO and Publisher, U.S. Naval Institute; Former Director, White House Military Office
“This is not theory. Through vivid crisis narratives and practical lessons, Ho and Hargis show what leadership requires when the stakes are real, the information is incomplete, and the path forward is unclear. Between Chaos and Calm is an essential guide for leaders who must protect trust, make disciplined decisions, and help their organizations recover with credibility.”
Kristi A. Matus
Former Chief Financial Officer, USAA
“In an AI-enabled world, crisis can move from operational issue to public test of credibility in minutes. Between Chaos and Calm gives leaders a clear framework for preparing, responding, and recovering with discipline.”
Edward Kummer
Founder, Topanga Energy; Former Chief Digital Officer, General Motors; Former President, NordstromRack.com
“As someone who studies sleep, performance, and human resilience, I appreciate how clearly Between Chaos and Calm captures the human side of crisis leadership. The best crisis response is not only about systems and plans; it is also about maintaining judgment, communication, and steadiness when fatigue and pressure are real.”
Dr. Michael Breus, PhD
“The Sleep Doctor” and Bestselling Author
“In aviation, travel, and global business, disruption is not the exception—it is inevitable. What separates failure from recovery is leadership. Between Chaos and Calm is an essential guide for leaders who understand that preparation, communication, and trust are not soft skills; they are survival skills.”
Peter Greenberg
Travel Editor, CBS News
“In the midst of a crisis it is invariably already too late to get prepared. Between Chaos and Calm provides a pragmatic and practical roadmap to get prepared in advance and build the resources to respond to a real life crisis. Ho and Hargis break down the topic and offer a roadmap — from the situation room to the board room and even for everyday families to prepare for the unknown, they tackle it comprehensively.”
Paul Yanover
CEO, Lonely Planet