“Always wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.” What mom hasn’t shelled out those words of wisdom to her kids? A mom’s arsenal of sayings goes hand in hand with x-ray vision, eyes in the back of her head and super-hearing.

Mom’s advice was good, and it applies in business as well. It’s not that you should anticipate being in accidents, but you should anticipate that unexpected things will happen. Sometimes these unexpected things may threaten to harm the organization or its stakeholders. And the speed at which these unexpected things–let’s call them crises–can happen can knock you sideways.

Being prepared—“wearing clean underwear”—means having a plan in place to deal with a crisis, should one arise. In today’s world your company’s little blunder could be in front of millions of people in a blink, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a well-known brand or a small organization–knowing how and when to respond is the only way to ensure your company’s reputation is left standing in the wake of unexpected mishap.

During a crisis, if you’re not out ahead of the story, you’re behind it. In today’s world, your company’s latest blunder will go viral in a flash, so make sure you have a crisis management plan created, approved and in place BEFORE disaster strikes.

What you can do: be honest and transparent, speak out early, own your problems, be consistent. Work with the media, not against it.

Ultimately, just like mom said, you can’t avoid the unexpected. So, it’s best to just always be prepared just in case.