The Authentic Eccentric

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
~ Charles Darwin

Windsor is my loyal and trustworthy guard dog. He came into my life via the Georgetown SPCA back in 2000; I can count on him to greet the random, unknown visitor with enough fury to frighten even people who have been warned:

No matter how fierce he is, however, I can always count on him cowering in the face of his irrational fears:

That’s right - my dog is terrified of the sprinkler. Well, actually, water in general, which is really funny, considering he practically grew up oceanside:

When it comes to water (except his beloved trips to the river), he becomes increasingly hard to manage.

Fears, real or imagined, affect everyone. Last week’s terrorism announcements have the potential to wreck havoc on your team. Coupled with the first anniversary of Katrina and the fifth anniversary of 9/11, it’s a recipe for increased stress and decreased productivity. While the media is off fear mongering, keep a calm head and embrace logic.

There is no place in the world immune from major disasters. Whether it is hurricanes, heatwaves, power outages or earthquakes, your immediate universe can change in an instant. Taking the time to sit down with your team and plan out your response in the event of one can lower stress levels and increase their focus while sharpening confidence in your continuity. It is a rational response to irrational behavior - control what you can, and support your team in being flexible enough to handle what comes next.

One of the best ways to fight fear is with knowledge and good information. Ohio State University’s John Mueller recently published a five page Cato Institute brief on terrorism; in it, he lays out the case against being afraid of terrorism in irrefutable logic, backed with credible, documented statistics about the risk of terrorism.

The Federation of American Scientists organization has built ReallyReady.org as a better, more complete and more useful resource for disaster planning. They have an excellent section on business continuity planning as well as a section for people with disabilities developed in collaboration with the National Organization on Disability, which is also a useful guide for caregivers.