| Does your business have an emergency response | | | | for yourself and your family just in case you are |
| plan? What about your family crisis response plan? | | | | ever caught up in an ordinary emergency situation |
| Who needs to know your whereabouts in an | | | | or terrorist activity. In the Army Operations |
| emergency? Spouse? Children? Parents? Boss? | | | | Center, we did recall drills. We had a recall plan |
| Coworker? What if the phone lines are down? | | | | where within a very short time everyone could |
| What if the Internet is not available? The chilling | | | | be called back to work. It works like a chain |
| scenes of the terrorist attack at the Russian | | | | reaction. The person at the top of the list calls |
| school are enough to compel us to think about | | | | two or three people and each of those call two |
| our own situations. | | | | or three people, and quickly any number of people |
| In business, we have contingency management, | | | | can be contacted. Prayer groups and others have |
| "con-man." For the Army I helped write and | | | | also used this technique to contact many people in |
| exercise contingency plans. In our personal lives, | | | | a very short time. |
| we should also consider in advance those times | | | | Think of your personal and professional |
| when life throws us a curve, when things don't go | | | | responsibilities. How many telephone numbers do |
| the way we planned. | | | | you know off the top of your head? Do you |
| One very useful technique is to do mental "what | | | | have them written down or stored in your cell |
| if" drills in order to anticipate situations before | | | | phone or PDA so others can make the contact if |
| they occur. Use your "over the horizon" radar to | | | | you are unable to? Should you establish a |
| look into the future. Then run different scenarios | | | | notification chain so that with one completed |
| through your mind. What if there was a bomb | | | | phone call, everyone who needs to know can be |
| threat while you were visiting another office and | | | | notified? What if the phone lines are down? Is |
| everyone had to evacuate the building? You have | | | | email available? If you can only reach a coworker, |
| to take your mother to the hospital in a few | | | | will that person know whom else to contact? This |
| minutes and your car keys are in the building with | | | | is a very practical "what if" drill you can conduct |
| your cell phone and all your money. Your | | | | immediately. What if you were caught up in an |
| coworkers are in the same situation. Whom could | | | | emergency situation tomorrow? Would you be |
| you contact? What are your options? | | | | better prepared than you were yesterday? |
| Large companies hire people to gather | | | | "What if" drills can boost your confidence. Even if |
| information, look into the future, and think up | | | | the challenging events you encounter in "real life" |
| plausible scenarios of challenges and opportunities | | | | are not the precise scenario you thought up, you |
| the company may face in the future. The | | | | will have practice in creative problem solving. Stuff |
| company is then able to do contingency planning. | | | | happens. Looking "over the horizon," anticipating, |
| You can benefit from those techniques, too. | | | | and doing "what if" drills will ensure that you are |
| Why not apply a "what if" drill to a few scenarios | | | | prepared. |