VisionWorks' Breakthrough Solutions
Harnessing the Forces of Change
Katrina and a Sense of Urgency - September 2005
“Katrina is the most significant natural
disaster in the history of the United States.”
Bill
Lokey, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Our hearts go out to the survivors of Hurricane
Katrina as we learn through the news media about their anguish,
their pain, and the urgency of their need. The human suffering is
real, and we see in our living rooms how tragedy brings out the best
in most people and the worst in others. Even though government
agencies have been planning for the impacts of hurricanes to hit New
Orleans for years, they apparently did not anticipate that the
levees would be broken and the city flooded.
One of the most important abilities of
strategic leaders is the ability to communicate a sense of urgency
about threats (and opportunities) facing a community, state, or
nation. This week’s events would have been much different had
earlier warnings been heeded. Furthermore, leaders have a
responsibility to interact with the public - to learn from them, to
share their own insights and knowledge, to include outside expertise
as appropriate, and to shape a consensus of what needs to take
place.
As we complete our Breakthrough Solutions
curriculum and view events of this week, the lessons for community
leaders jump out at us: the need to understand the larger
environment; to need to envision and plan for scenarios you hope
will never come to pass; and the realization that the best time to
move to safety, to secure resources, and to protect human life is
before disaster strikes. Encountering Mother Nature unleashed is a
humbling experience. As the human needs are addressed and the
infrastructure is restored, I trust that our nation will learn from
this tragedy - an education that is certainly one of our most
expensive.
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