We’ve been informed
that our electricity
will be shut down
from 8 am to 8 pm
a couple days this month.
I run my Romance Writing Business
from home.
I can’t go multiple days
with no electricity
during prime promotion/selling hours.
So I’m going to
an unimpacted library
to run my business.
Things happen.
Power goes out.
Flooding occurs.
Wildcat strikes
surprise us.
We all need
to be able to
run our businesses
from alternate locations.
Have one in mind
and ready.
I can’t believe
this has to be said
but…
here we are.
You need to have hard copies
i.e. print copies,
preferably laminated,
of your emergency procedures.
The odds are huge
that,
during an emergency,
you won’t have power
and
you definitely won’t have
internet access.
Those emergency procedures
saved to the cloud
or your hard drive
won’t help you then.
You need to have access
to emergency procedures
when the power is out.
Print emergency procedures
and preferably laminate
or waterproof them in some way.
Kill a tree
to save your people.
This could save lives.
In an emergency,
the key first steps
are
1) someone recognizing
it IS an emergency
and
2) someone taking ACTION
to minimize the damage
caused by the emergency.
A carnival ride filled with people
was tipping over.
Hundreds of people saw this,
knew what would happen.
Only one person acted.
Once he acted,
however,
many of the people watching
joined in
and helped him.
THIS is why
we need to hire
or partner with people
who have the ability
to act during an emergency.
Preferably these quick responders
will be in leadership positions.
If there isn’t someone on the team
with the ability to respond quickly,
no one will take action
and small emergencies will become
huge disasters.
Look for this ability
during the hiring process,
especially for leadership positions.
Everyone will say they respond quickly
in emergencies.
Ask for examples.
Verify those examples if you can.
When checking references,
ask if the candidate responds well
in emergencies.
Ensure you have someone
who responds quickly
in emergencies
on your team.
You WILL need her/her eventually.
That’s a certainty.