“So much depends on our own self-confidence in our ability to cope. If we project confusion and failure and discouragement it will show up all around the world. People wonder anyway when they see commitments un-kept.”
George Herbert Walker Bush – 1975
I read this quote in the pre-release article describing President George H. W. Bush new book that will be coming out this spring. It contains his memoirs while he was stationed as the US liaison in China before his presidency. I could not help making an immediate connection with how this quote describes disaster management as well. Too often we have seen disasters unravel in the media due to confusion, failure and discouragement. Too often we immediately see the fallout from failed disaster commitments when these commitments were un-deliverable in the first place. A good disaster manager manages his people…… not the disaster. When his people are supported, they are positive and project success and commitment. When a good disaster manager allows his people to manage the disaster, he has time to manage reasonable and reachable objectives and commitments. Don’t let the victims and the media begin to wonder….. manage disasters with confidence, instill this confidence in your responders, and don’t make disaster commitments that you cannot control or keep.
Disaster Management 