3-1-10 Earthquakes and Such

An earthquake in Chile, an earthquake in Haiti, crippling snows in the eastern US, crippling storms in the south of France…… those are just the most recent stories about catastrophes.

One thing that you can count on, sooner or later you WILL have to deal with the fallout from a catastrophe or natural disaster. Whether it is a tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, fire, whatever -- it will happen. Is your company ready for it? Are you ready for it? As an executive, your people look to you in times of disaster.

Being ready starts with a disaster plan. It should include what everyone does both during the disaster as well as what happens after the disaster. Of course, unless you are the safety executive for your company, it is likely that someone else has put in the work to develop this plan. That’s okay. In fact, it is for the best. You want the experts to do the planning. And you probably want the experts to actually execute when the disaster occurs. But, YOU are the leader. Regardless of who actually executes the disaster plan, your people and company look to you, as the executive, to lead them through and out of the disaster.

Look at the prime minister of Haiti. He appears to fail on two counts. First, he didn’t cause the actions required to adequately prepare for a disaster. Granted this is a really poor country. But even without significant funds, there are basic plans that they could’ve laid in order to be more prepared for an earthquake. And second, he doesn’t appear to be adequately leading them out of the disaster. Instead, he appears to be totally reliant on outside help and leadership to make anything happen relative to recovery. I’m betting that he won’t be prime minister for much longer….. That his countrymen will be looking for better leadership in the future.

Are you ready to lead your company (or even your family, for that matter) through a disaster? Do you have a disaster plan? When is the last time that you personally reviewed the disaster plan? If it has been more than 6 months ago, you are overdue. If something happened right this second, right while you are reading this post….. What is the very first thing that you should do? It isn’t a topic that any executive really wants to discuss or have to address. But the fact is, you HAVE to.

Cheers!