“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.” -Confucius
It’s clear that failing to plan will consistently lead to poor outcomes. Planning ahead allows organizations to experience many benefits, including that ability to:
1. Assess Risks Versus Opportunities
Unfortunately, many organizations do not succeed during emergencies because they don’t anticipate predictable risks. Or, if they do, they fail to plan how to realistically respond. We can help you uncover the risks and identify opportunities for success with an Annex Development for Key Hazards and Functions planning initiative.
By planning ahead, smart organizations will be able to identify associated risks, weigh and categorize them, prioritize, and then create a successful response plan.
2. Become Proactive Instead of Reactive
Without proper planning, organizations will appear to be caught off guard and become reactive. Planning ahead helps organizations become proactive and become able to take the right action in the face of challenge and adversity.
Take the time to develop a library of Initial Incident Action Plans to change the dynamics of how your organization responds. This planning effort is also ideal for known events which have the potential to expand in scope or complexity, such as demonstrations, protests, or other high profile events.
3. Improve Performance
Routine boiler-plate plans and preparation lead to routine performances.
Good plans and preparation lead to good performance.
However, implementable plans and practical preparation lead to remarkable performance.
Lay the foundations for remarkable performance with understandable, easy to use Standard Operating Guidelines backed by Policy and Procedures. If personnel are clear about what to do next, this will lead to less stress, improved productivity and service delivery, and effective and influential Incident Management Team members.
4. Increase Teamwork
Incident Management Team development is vital to the success of projects and to the organization as a whole. However, many organizations do not plan for team development. Teams that don’t have a strong plan regularly experience internal and external conflict during events, which results in confusion, low productivity, less creativity, dissociation, and ultimately failure.
When the right plan is designed, assigning tasks to Incident Management Team members can be done quickly and confidently. Engage us for a Team Building and Facilitation to extend the effectiveness of other planning initiatives within your organization.
5. Revise and Update Plans
Effective plans are revised and updated regularly. Revisit existing plans with updated information on risk, quality, resources, stakeholders, assumptions, and constraints. Contact us today for a Plan Review.
6. Prepare for the Worst
While catastrophic events are rare, these incidents still require unique planning. Our Atypical Event Planning services will help ensure organizational disruptions are minimized and enable life safety operations to continue.
We can conduct long-range planning for events that can span several weeks and/or months such as disease outbreaks, pandemics, acts of terrorism, or extended emergency sheltering requirements. Proper pre-planning can lead to better opportunities for reimbursement from federal agencies and quicker restoration of normal operations.
Contact A Better Emergency
I am available to discuss your needs for piece work or through a master service agreement to provide any of these services and more. Contact me today at abetteremergency@gmail.com to begin your planning engagement.