What Does "OODA" Mean Anyway?

Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.

That’s what OODA stands for. It’s a term coined by Colonel John R. Boyd (January 23, 1927 — March 9, 1997; pictured right), a United States Air Force fighter pilot and military strate­gist, whose theories have influ­enced both military and business strategies.

He used the term “OODA Loop” to describe the process that individ­u­als and organi­za­tions use to react to events. The key to success is the creation of situa­tions where one can make appro­pri­ate decisions more rapidly than others.
Read More

Out of Disaster into Preparedness

The Time is Now to Capitalize on Risk Mitigation Opportunities

Major disas­ters provide impor­tant learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties. People are motivated by the loss of life to be more recep­tive to new approaches and strate­gies for risk reduc­tion in the after­math of a crisis. In 2008, 321 natural disas­ters claimed more than 235,000 lives and cost the world an estimated $181 billion (accord­ing to The World Bank).

A long-term approach to build­ing disas­ter resilience is criti­cal, sadly however, disas­ter risk is often only fully acknowl­edged follow­ing a major event. The disas­ter recov­ery period thus provides an oppor­tu­nity to once again sound the alarm and prose­ly­tize for increas­ing disas­ter prepared­ness and risk reduc­tion funding at the federal, state and local levels.

Climate change now compounds the risks for natural disas­ters, but also provides an oppor­tu­nity to empower commu­ni­ties to manage that risk. Consider that disas­ter risk reduc­tion and climate change adapta­tion funding can actually be integrated into relief and recov­ery budgets. How about an in-depth review of the relevant funding instru­ments and practices to ensure that those insti­tu­tions most able to effect change have access to relevant funding  facil­i­tated by local and national governments?

Let’s get serious about risk reduc­tion partner­ships and collab­o­ra­tion with practices that engage local govern­ment, civil society and NGOs in collec­tive decision-making and tangi­ble strate­gies to reduce risk and strengthen early warning. Technology MUST be utilized more effec­tively if we are to achieve enhanced resiliency and risk reduc­tion with the limited funds we are currently willing to allocate.

This fleet­ing moment needs to be capital­ized upon by policy­mak­ers, practi­tion­ers and the public alike — let’s do it together.

Resilient Cities

In the wake of the Haiti earth­quake and the destruc­tion of Port-au-Prince, we can wonder again at what it takes to create resilient cities and commu­ni­ties. In this day and age — do we even know what it takes to become resilient ourselves and thereby prepare our commu­ni­ties and our cities? Amidst the wonder, though, is a question of resolve. Do we have the requi­site desire and the resources to do so? Haiti surely did not.

Thankfully there are those who are tackling these thorny questions. In October 2009 the 6^th Gaining Ground Summit series attracted 600 people to Vancouver, BC to learn, talk about, and build connec­tions around the theme of “Resilient Cities.”

Check out Mark Holland’s Resilient Cities Manifesto:

“I will open to the pain that I cause in the world through my ignorance and fear and the distance I seem to have from my inter­nal dignity and nobil­ity, and I will feel the pain, shock and injus­tice of partic­i­pat­ing in the death of so many, if only by accident — and then I will move past the grief to the restless seren­ity of my respon­si­bil­ity — to my planet, to my commu­nity, to my family, and to myself.”

Let the (Disaster) Games Begin

Now surely you’ve never thought to make a game of disas­ter prepared­ness!? Well … 2010 may be a good time to rethink your approach to improv­ing your business conti­nu­ity readiness.

Games are essen­tial to our human experi­ence and they form a part of every culture.

Defined as struc­tured activ­i­ties under­taken for fun, games are more and more being used as educa­tional tools. By making aspects of educa­tion and work fun through games, atten­tion and reten­tion among partic­i­pants can be greatly enhanced. The defense indus­try has under­stood this for many years — invest­ing heavily in gaming software to enhance soldier training.

Read More

Everybody Needs a Tap Code

This week, PBS aired a phenom­e­nal series on human emotion and social inter­ac­tion called “This Emotional Life.” I was partic­u­larly struck by a segment on human resilience in which a Vietnam veteran — Bob Shumaker, a POW for 8 years — shared his amazing story.

Read More

Resiliency=f(comms)

Organizational resiliency is a function of avail­able commu­ni­ca­tions which is a direct function of your prepared­ness posture. Without commu­ni­ca­tions you are up zee creek (if there’s any water left)! Ok if there’s no water left you are really up zee creek! Better call somebody…oh darn…the phones aren’t working and the power is out! … Geez my cell phone battery is dead…oh well the cell service is down too. — Now what! … Hope I can find my car keys.

Read More