Living Florida, I am spring summertime ritual hurricane preparedness. Plywood windows, three days food per person fill bathtub water. Being overachiever life, I pantry full food (okay, I shop Costco), I share commercial generator mother lives next door I 40,000-gallon bathtub. In Florida call swimming pool.
My 40,000-gallon bathtub beautiful thing. It gathering family, own oasis southern heat. It chlorinated stores emergency water reserve filtration de-chlorination device keeps water safe drink.
But physical preparation aspect resilience resilience lifes disasters.
Now before discuss resilience understand simple definitions. First disaster? A disaster needs exceed resources. During holiday shopping season run own mini-disasters, uncommon wants exceed wallets.
Resilience opposite disaster.
Resilience resources exceed needs. When shopping holidays cash low call resilience, Charge it!
But leaves majority resilience unaccounted for. Resilience far physical financial resource management. Resilience begs question bathtub soul?
What exactly, "resilience" build 40,000 gallon bathtub soul?
If resilience resources exceed needs, key resilience always resources need. In life, resources fall four broad categories. The simple physical resources: food water, shelter and, yes, money. The second relationships, friends family; people count people whom count support. The third emotional. Although may seem relationships, far ifferent. This "inner strength," reserve possess allows alone, cannot tap relationships directly, lifeline available. The fourth spiritual resilience. Contrary believe, scientific theological research proven "what" belief, fact that believe provides spiritual resilience. In short, simple act believing provides renewing source spiritual strength.
If total resilience 40,000 gallon bathtub, four categories resilience canteen. They portable water supply carried moment.
Ideally, adversity strikes, finds four full canteens.
Through planning, physical resources respond physical threat safety security. This includes knowledge tangible objects financial support.
Through presence family friends, relationship canteen filled love; people lend helping hand shoulder cry.
Through lifes experiences, emotional canteen filled high self esteem born happy memories. A child's steps, parent's encouraging words, camaraderie friends, gentle "I love you" person dear us.
Through beliefs, spiritual canteen filled philosophy ages. The beliefs passed choose pass come us.
But does business strategic planning?
When adversity strikes resilience helps group, individual ultimately business survive. There recurring themes disaster field office. The all hazards approach. This approach involves preparing individual adverse events, rather ways event greatly impact individual, community, case, business. Resilience its four forms ensures all hazards ready.
The second theme adversity unpredictable varied. One predict adversity occur adversity be. On hand limited ways adversity impact individual business. In circumstances resilience, maintaining resources excess needs, limited points vulnerability mitigated.
When adversity strikes, sip gulp canteens. If prepared well, 40,000 gallon bathtub full. At day, moment repose, refill canteens 40,000 gallon reserve. We resilient.
So important business choke points? Management & Communications
One lessons learned early disaster field office referred span control. Span two-dimensional concept personnel project management. Span dictates breadth depth individual leader may effectively exert leadership.
Decades experience taught experienced project manager, leader, CEO company president effectively lead breadth three seven subordinate divisions ideally five.
That experience taught leader becomes detached organization oversee grows greater five seven layers deep with, again, ideal five efficacy.
But why does occur? Why organization divisions wide under leader fingers hand layers deep organization toes foot?
The answer lies functioning human brain. Immediate memory, portion brain receiving information instantaneously, less.037 milliseconds, maintaining until written permanent memory seven blocks wide; why telephone (excluding code) seven digits long.
However, telephone number, grouping batches numbers brain treats group numbers block. The code becomes block information rather three discreet numbers. The prefix, group three numbers, again considered single block digits. Hence ten-digit telephone treated brain six blocks informationthe code, prefix four individual digits. Similarly Social Security divided sequencethree-digit prefix, two-digit code terminal four digits.
Span pays attention basic brain limitation. You effectively pay attention five simultaneous branches within chain command without becoming distracted available blocks memory store distractions.
Depth branch works way. When must pay attention branch degree specificity, brain turns memory sideways looks depth blocks information. Limiting depth 5 layers leaves available blocks distractions share among branches organization.
But does impact actual management?
Taking decades experience disaster field office combining neurophysiologic knowledge human brain works, discovered organization, organization must subdivided first-level subordinates exceeds five. Therefore, CEO must run four divisions single company, four vice-presidents, exceeds seven, company must fashion broken up, grouping greater divisions under individual presidents report CEO. Thus company becomes layer deper, CEO 2 divisions under his span (each president).
Similarly, imagine CEO presidents, organization becomes greater seven layers deep seventh layer customers. The CEO danger losing touch customers. In circumstance, division company reporting directly CEO established provides information disseminated directly CEO customers feedback directly customers CEO.
Communications second choke point inherent businesses. Regardless type adversity, business communication, lack communications, provides opportunity adversity become disaster.
Business communications comes forms, risk communications communications technology.
Risk communication, ability communicate public mass media direct contact level risk inherent adverse event impact upon business consumer steps taken litigate risk. In case Tylenol contamination, Johnson & Johnson became epitome risk communication. Immediately upon determining product become implicated adverse event within community, CEO Chairman Board appeared media outlet announce Tylenol withdrawn market full refunds partial empty bottles. When similar product contamination event occurred Taco Bell 2006, two-week delay communications resulted significant fall restaurant patronage customer retention. When CEO Taco Bell finally appeared media, ill prepared communicated risk confidence, ineptitude uncertainty.
Communications technology encompasses physical means businesses interact supplies, colleagues customers. Business communication requires multiple levels redundancy wireless broadband inexpensive T1 lines, business Internet access dual redundant systems provides voice communication data relay. Off sight server redundancy data continuity systems allow resumption business within seconds, minutes, entire brick mortar site devastated adverse event. Telephonic communication, POTS (plain telephone system), cellular wireless VOiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) again provides multiple redundancies voice communication.
Following Hurricane Katrina, federal teams incapable maintaining adequate voice data communications despite satellite uplink equipment, satellite phone, multiple brands vendors cellular service ability tap existing POTS hardwired Internet systems. In hours operations Louis Armstrong International Airport New Orleans, Louisiana, business disaster response carried under local command temporarily disconnected central coordination. As result, federal assets travel multiple redundant communication systems. Businesses seeking survival 21st century must provide types redundancy critical business pathway communications.
Beyond means communications attitude communications must addressed. In disaster field office, learned ago business management practices seldom insure rapid efficient movement information. The process works eliminating gridlock territorialism comes Harvard early 1980s.
Gergen Marcus described concept economics known 'silozation'. In groundbreaking theory authors posit traditional business models allow progression information base 'silo' highest levels management top silo dissemination information top silo downward, prevents communication between organizations (silos) wall middle level management. This prevents development relationships between various levels organization divisions within single corporation.
Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez founder president consulting firm High Alert, LLC.. He serves expert panels pandemic preparedness healthcare surge planning Congressional Cabinet Members. Board certified multiple specialties, Dr. Ramirez Founding Chairperson American Board Disaster Medicine serves nation Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer National Disaster Medical System. Dr. Ramirez book: You Can Survive Anything, Anywhere, Every Time. His website http://www.High-Alert.com
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