When
I was in the 5th grade, the movie "Patton" was playing
in the theaters that June (1970). I was about to embark onto
Junior High School and my father took me out to a movie that
he thought would resonate with me. It was the first time that
I was at a movie that had an intermission as it was two hours
and fifty two minutes long. While General George S. Patton had
many memorable quotes during the Second World War, one that
is probably not his stays in my brain over the years:
"Proper
Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance"
This
is an interesting phrase that has been shaped, molded and reworded
by various different groups and authors to get their point across
that having forethought before an endeavor will aid in it's
outcome. The
question each leader and each individual needs to ask themselves
is whether they are putting in the right efforts to think through
their thoughts and actions before the challenging time comes
so that they can best create the outcome desired. In listening
to a video interview
of NY State DHSES Commissioner Jerome Hauer, who some of us
remember when he was the Director of NYC OEM before 9/11, I
thought of another one of those "pesky P-word" phrases
(more like a list that is patterned after the FEMA response
circle).
"Prevent,
Plan, Prepare, Position, Perform, Post-Analysis"
-
prevent
future problems and breakdowns of equipment and procedures
-
plan
your course of action if things do breakdown
-
prepare
your response and resources needed (people, equipment, info)
-
position
those resources where they would do the most good
-
perform
to the best of your abilities and be courageous enough to
adapt
-
post-analysis
when all has calmed down will show things that need changing
As
Commissioner Hauer said in the interview, it is better to over
prepare and assume the worst. You can always dial back your
response, but you can't dial it up if it is worse than you planned
for.
