I don’t watch much television, but it is difficult to escape the media’s focus on the Gulf Coast. The past few days have been filled with mud slinging about which government leader should have done what. Is there a lesson for us, as Managers, about our role in planning for our own organizations?

I thought about the distinct differences between South Florida’s (where I live) response to hurricanes and what we are seeing in New Orleans. There is no doubt that had Katrina come ashore here as a Category 4, we would have seen similar destruction, but I wonder if we would have seen the ensuing chaos.

When Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992, we learned a lot. We learned a lot about building codes and we learned a lot about preparedness. Almost every organization I work with has a detailed Hurricane Plan in writing. The path and the storm intensity trigger automatic response to take specific action based on the plan.

The plan takes the emotion out of the decision. So many Managers make their decisions based on emotion rather than strict adherence to a plan. Plans are created in the calm of foresight, to help us take action in the face of circumstances that may be chaotic or difficult to interpret.

Unfortunately, it often takes a bit of hindsight, and sometimes a devastating event to teach us the lessons of planning for the worst. -TF

PS. Please pass along the link to our “I’m-OK” message boards in the search for people displaced in Hurricane Katrina. You can read more about our site in yesterday’s post. The link is www.im-ok.org