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The Eye of the Storm It will be a good while before all the post-mortems are done on the official response to
the twin disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but it's already clear that there will be ample lessons for leadership in the storms' aftermath. At the risk of writing prematurely when there is so much conflicting testimony about what actually happened (or didn't), here are some of the observations I took from my days and now weeks of watching CNN and reading the newspaper accounts of this almost unimaginable disaster. What we saw unfold in New Orleans was a failure of execution of epic proportions. The
basic elements of what would be needed after the storm were pretty well known from past experience with other natural disasters. There was plenty of planning for a hurricane's direct hit on the city, but for reasons still unclear whatever plans were in place were not implemented until it was too late, and things had spiraled out of control. As Winston Churchill once said: "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Good information on the developing crisis was in short supply, but leaders acted on
rumors as though they were ground truth. Maybe that's because the rumors fit so well with their own preconceptions. In this they were aided and abetted by the media who reported incessantly on the same few events until they began to seem as though they were the only events. Communication systems failed catastrophically, apparently with no backup systems in place. Or, if there were backups, they were also subject to failure, hard to imagine in
this age of instant, always-on global connectivity. Providing for robust communications in a worst-case scenario should be a no-brainer for today's leaders. Without them, nothing will happen as intended. The structure of our organizations has not adapted to the growth in our technical capabilities. There are numerous stories about truckloads of ice being driven from place to place, bodies being left to decay because contracts to remove them were not in
place, foreign-trained commandos being 'coptered in to secure private homes and businesses. Often, the bottom line to the story is frustration with the bureaucracies' inflexibility and inability to act. Putting the right person in the right job at the right time is a key function of leadership-no, it's the key function. There's no room for cronyism in today's complex
world. The higher up the job, the more important is the vetting process. People will not follow a leader in whose basic competence they cannot trust. The human brain can only take so much stress. There was plenty of evidence that stress impacted people's vital executive functions, such as planning, decision-making and problem-solving abilities, even moral reasoning. Why do so many leaders think they are immune from this phenomenon?
Middle managers were the real heroes of the hurricane story. The people who got there first and as a result probably saved thousands of lives were the Coast Guard search and rescue teams who were in place before the storm hit and who were empowered to do their jobs under the direction of the officers on the scene. It seemed that everybody else got stuck on the outskirts of town waiting for orders from above.
As I read back over my list, the most interesting thing is that every single item on it is an artifact of mindset and culture. The changes we need are individual and collective, small and large, simple but never easy. Fundamentally, they are changes of mind and heart, the necessary foundations for sustainable changes in policy and process. This is the real work of leadership in the days ahead. Now more than ever, leadership is hard work. But you don't have to do it all on your
own; let's talk about how coaching can support you. Call (410)626-6008, or email info@bloomfieldassociates.com. 
Every organization, as well as every household, should have a disaster preparedness plan in place. There are many resources available to help: start with the American Red Cross website. As you review your own plan, look at it with the following questions in mind:
- What assumptions have been made about the public and private support resources that would be available when disaster strikes?
- Are there alternative plans for transportation and communications?
- Does everyone know their part in the plan?
- What kind of training or practice do people need?
- Have alternative scenarios been considered?
Consider convening a team with representatives of differing views and
perspectives to review the plan periodically to check that assumptions and information remain valid. |
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A recent survey done by a wireless security firm found that while almost half of the respondents are concerned about securing mobile handheld devices, they have no
immediate plans to buy software to fend off viruses, intrusions and other maladies. Only five percent of executives and managers say that people conducting business today are extremely courteous, with a third saying that people are either not very courteous or not at all courteous. McDonald's says that of the top 50 members of its global management team, 20 (including CEO Jim Skinner) started on the front lines of McDonald's restaurants.
Seventy percent of its restaurant managers and 40 percent of its owner/operators began as crew. 
Minipreneurs The people who are taking up entrepreneurship on an individual level to either supplement or replace more traditional modes of employment. These include micro
businesses, freelancers, side-businesses, weekend entrepreneurs, web-driven entrepreneurs, part-timers, free agents, cottage businesses, seniorpreneurs, co-creators, mompreneurs, pro-ams, solopreneurs, eBay traders, advertising-sponsored bloggers and so on. How widespread is this trend? Some indicators: More than 724,000 Americans report that eBay is their primary or secondary source of income. In addition to these professional eBay sellers, another 1.5 million say they supplement
their income by selling on eBay. And one research study estimates that there are 5 million web-driven entrepreneurs in the U.S., representing 25% of all small businesses. 
 Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities, by Adam Kahane. What I like about it: The author describes his youthful ambition to be one of the smartest people in the world who would solve the world's most complex problems. His personal
experience in South Africa during the transformation of that country's political system changed him forever and led him to this new understanding of how individually and collectively we can improve our world.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates  Dark Crystal, co-directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. What I like about it: This "unknown" movie by the Muppets creators is all about purpose and power - great metaphors for management. In this fantasy adventure, the Dark Crystal -- which served as the font of balance and truth -- cracked 1,000
years ago, beginning an age of chaos. To restore order to the planet, Jen, the last of the Gelfling race, begins a quest to find a missing shard and heal the crystal.
Doug Bolton
Executive Coach & Consultant
Monterey Coaching Network Share what you're into - books, articles, movies, music, websites - with others on the list! Send us the title and author or other pertinent information, along with a
sentence or two on what you like about it, and if we use it in A Different Optic we'll not only quote you, we'll provide a link to you or your website. |
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"You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there."
- Edwin Louis Cole | |
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Beth Bloomfield is offering another running of her popular teleclinic "Build Your Executive Coaching Practice," beginning later in October. If you're on this newsletter subscriber list, you'll be getting an announcement soon with specific details and a link to online registration. If you want to know more now, please contact Beth at (410) 626-6008. | | |
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