I’ve written in the past about how we gauge crises with our 3 x 3 matrix. As a company, we focus on the long, slow occurring crises (the frogs) and the unforeseen, come-out-of-the-blue crises (the godzillas) as these are the crises that most people don’t, won’t or can’t plan […]
The title of this post is a reference to a quote by General Curtis Lemay about not being about to tell the difference between treason and incompetence – the results were the same. And results are really what we deal with every day. Something happens and we immediately start […]
I’ve written before about emergency response and preparation here. But there was one aspect of emergency response and preparation that I neglected to mention – luck.
I bring this up because in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, some Texas politicians are calling for people to NOT donate to the American […]
We’ve written about sexual harassment before – there’s no secret there. But I would like to examine the economic benefits and costs associated with harassment today. This examination is prompted by Bill O’Reilly’s firing by Fox after it was revealed that five women had been paid $13.5 million to […]
Because I’ve spent a lot of time in the Washington, DC area working in and for the federal government, I’ve been asked frequently about recent news reports coming from the national capital. Most of the questions are of the type, “Can the President/FBI/CIA/NSA/etc. really do ___________________ and keep it […]
I generally encourage people to lower their voices and think before they speak – perhaps to not speak at all – it makes for more reasoned communication. But there is one area that I personally violate that rule – when things go wrong. And when things go wrong, I […]
My wife and I go through a ritual most days – I’ll ask her sometime in the morning or early afternoon if she has given any thought to what to have for dinner and does she want me to get something out of the freezer? Invariably, she’ll say no, […]
It’s the end of the year and it’s a common feeling to feel that the year wasn’t a good one – we didn’t accomplish much – we’re no better off than we were at the beginning of the year. It isn’t true but the little devil sitting on our […]
In September 1982, the world was shocked at the cyanide deaths of seven people in the Chicago area. It was soon followed with the discovery that Tylenol was the common link. Johnson & Johnson mounted a total recall of Tylenol, halted production and distribution of the product and broadcast […]
I still remember the day in 1978 when every male staff member was ordered to the auditorium at the US Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL. None knew why but the order was specific – every male staff member NOW.
After we all assembled, we came to attention when […]
Recovery is a state of mind – as well as a physical state of being. That’s because an emergency always leaves a trail of experiences that never completely is gone. Ever hear of PTSD – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
First of all, there’s a sense of violation – how could this […]
Unless your job is focused on dealing with emergencies – firefighter, police officer, paramedic, emergency room personnel, etc. – the odds are very small that you will deal with an actual emergency. For example, in the eleven years I lived in Washington state, there have been only two real […]
In part 1, we discussed the five possible actions that either must be done or can be done to minimize the loss from an emergency. In this post, we are going to examine what is arguably the most important step of all – planning.
There is a lot of information […]
I have been involved with the Boy Scouts since 1978 – I bought a canoe and one of my best friends, who was a scoutmaster, started inviting me to all the camp outs. One aspect of Scouting was always planning what to do in case of an emergency. The […]
In the past ten years I have dealt with over 250 entrepreneurs wanting to start new businesses. Every single one came in with optimism that his or her idea would be a winner. And there were plenty of great ideas – ideas that would save lives, improve safety or […]
Technical debt is not really about money – it’s about why we are where we are today. It’s been defined as:
A series of bad decisions (both business and technical) which lead to using more resources to accomplish less
We all deal with this problem. What computer system did you first […]
We have all heard the proverb: The straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s illustrative of a fundamental human behavior – whatever happens just before a disaster is attributed as the cause of the disaster.
The 2014 Oso slide is an infamous example of this behavior:
“On Saturday, March 22, 2014, […]
Have you heard of the 3S method? In the West where wolves are a very polarizing subject – either you are for wolves or against wolves – it’s not uncommon for some people want to “eliminate” wolves. But shooting wolves is illegal except when you have a permit. So […]
The crisis in Flint Michigan with their water supply brings back bad memories for me – my family and I lived a similar experience the last year I was in the Navy. We were living on the Yorktown Naval Weapon Station in base housing and our water suddenly became […]
A while ago, one of my start-up clients messaged me. It began: “You’re probably going to hate me for this…!”
That’s always a good sign, right? Sigh.
She continued: “I just committed to an amazing opportunity for us to triple our advertising exposure,” she went on. “A sponsor dropped out of […]
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