< Previous50 September 2025law-middleeast.com FINAL WORD Knowing how to separate crises from everyday business is the fi rst step in building corporate resilience WHEN EVERYTHING IS URGENT, NOTHING TRULY IS In business today, everything seems urgent. A sales contract awaiting signature, an employment query, and a compliance form to be fi led. Stakeholders naturally classify these matters as urgent because they aff ect their immediate objectives. The result is that the legal team becomes overloaded with requests that carry the same label, and concerns remain stuck in the system for longer than they should. When everything is urgent, nothing truly urgent receives the attention it deserves. True urgency is rarer and easier to defi ne. It exists when inaction creates an immediate risk of damage to the company. Litigation deadlines, regulatory notices, or breaches of contract fall into this category because delay may cause penalties, disrupt operations, or damage reputation. A regulator’s unanswered inquiry can lead to sanctions, while a missed contractual deadline may interrupt the company’s ability to deliver to customers. These matters justify escalation because the cost of hesitation is real and immediate. Priorities lie in the middle ground. They do not present an immediate threat, yet if neglected, they will escalate into urgency. Licence renewals, shareholder approvals, board resolutions, and negotiation of long-term contracts fall here. A licence that has expired may shut down operations, while an outdated governance framework may spark disputes over authority. Urgent matters must be escalated instantly, priorities must be tracked and scheduled, and business as usual must fl ow smoothly in the background Priorities require discipline and steady attention to prevent them from becoming emergencies. Then there is the normal course of business. These are the routine tasks that sustain corporate life and rarely cause disruption if handled in time. Examples include standard reviews of low- risk contracts, recurring employment matters, supplier agreements based on templates, and periodic compliance reporting. The challenge is that business teams often see them as urgent because they block progress on their own goals. For a sales executive, a supplier agreement feels urgent because it delays a deal, even if, legally, it carries no risk to the company. Recognising these matters as business as usual ensures they are managed effi ciently without draining the same energy required for crises. This is why in-house counsel—and the business—must work in partnership. The legal team cannot sit in isolation, deciding urgency while the business treats everything as a red fl ag. Nor can the business assume that every issue deserves the same speed of response. Together, they must calibrate what belongs in each category. Urgent matters must be escalated instantly, priorities must be tracked and scheduled, and business as usual must fl ow smoothly in the background. The art of triage defi nes eff ective governance. It prevents wasted energy, protects against disruption, and secures the company’s long-term resilience. By Anwar El Khatib Chief legal counsel at SalikNext >