Post-storm Wisdom

November 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In my first audio blog post, I interview dear friend Sheri Baker whose home was about 200 yards from the 17th Street Canal breach in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Sheri is married to Terry Baker and they have three children. Sheri learned a lot and gained great wisdom dealing with the storm’s aftermath. She has agreed to share some of it with me in this interview.

Click here to listen…

Sheri is also the Chief Financial Officer of Acme Oyster House, a New Orleans institution. I hope to do another interview with her about dealing with disasters from a business leadership and business continuity standpoint.

I have written previously about things I’ve learned going through hurricanes here and here.

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Community Service, General Tagged With: ,

Readiness

September 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’m writing this on August 29 as we ride out the storm named Isaac. The worst is not yet here but we are ready.

I did not witness a bunch of freaking out in prep for this one. Most people I know have been through hurricanes before and like us, live in a state of semi-preparedness. We always have batteries, flashlights, radios, a five-day ice chest, containers to fill with water, etc. The only things needed were gas and ice.

Did you catch Drew Brees’ message as the storm approached? “We’ve been through this before. Obviously, do everything you can to keep yourself, your families and those around you safe. I know we’re ready. We’re prepared for this. We have been for a long time.” Yes, we have been ready for awhile.

Makes me think of careers in the 21st century. You must be ready. Sometimes the opportunity is visible from afar and slow moving (like Isaac) but often the window is only open for a brief second and you have to jump at a moment’s notice. (Sorry for the mixed metaphors but you get the drift.) Once in my career I had only a split second to make a move. I was ready, I knew it and I’ve never regretted that decision.

Living in a state of perpetual readiness may sound exhausting but once you become accustomed to it, the security is reassuring and gives you strength.

Similar to a storm readiness checklist, here is my career readiness checklist.

  • Up-to-date resume. Your resume is never finished. You should regularly be updating, tweaking, and enhancing it as you gain experience, develop, and discover your strengths. If you had to send your resume out today, could you do it?
  • Knowledge of strengths. Build on them. If you are unsure of your strengths, consider doing some assessments.
  • Knowledge of developmental areas. Work to strengthen these. Create a specific, doable plan. If you are don’t know where to begin, contact me for a copy of my development planning grid. Or, consider coaching.
  • Experience. Sometimes your job provides career-relevant experiences, other times you have to find them. Volunteering is an excellent source for developmental experiences.
  • Regular networking* –  in-person. Attend your professional association meetings but also find other events in your community. Meetup.com is a way to find interesting gatherings and meet new people.
  • Regular networking* – virtually. The usual suspects – Linkedin, twitter & facebook are the holy trinity for virtual networking.
  • Eyes open for opportunities. In your company, your industry, your community and online. Be ready for them.

None of us wants to go through storms, whether natural or career, but being ready makes it easier.

*Cultivating a large network takes time. Don’t wait too late. It’s kind of like looking for D batteries when a storm is already in the Gulf. They just may not be available when you need them.

 

What do you think?

Filed Under: Career Invention, Community Service, Leadership Development Tagged With: , , , ,

Why? Part 2

November 4, 2011 By 2 Comments

I am a weather junkie and spend a lot of time watching The Weather Channel (there – I’ve admitted it publicly!). The intensity, frequency and scale of natural disasters is mind-boggling. I really feel for the victims. Having been through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Gustav here in South Louisiana, I can say the aftermath is pretty awful.  My family and I have been fortunate and only inconvenienced by these storms (our worst was 9 days without power) but know many who lost much and some who lost everything.

I was teaching at LSU fall ’05 when Katrina and Rita struck. Lives were turned completely upside down. Most students had one or more displaced family members, evacuated from the storm zone, living with them in their apartments; childhood homes and neighborhoods were damaged or destroyed. Kids cried in class. The stories were incredible. It was surreal.

Since then I’ve thought a lot about resilience and every post-Katrina semester would ask students in my HRM class, “Why do you think Katrina happened to us?” Of course there is no answer to that, but I’m always looking for reason and meaning in things that happen. What I do know is that going through those storms created:

  • a lot of empathy and compassion in people’s hearts, especially when we see others dealing with similar challenges, and
  • a teflon-like coating of resilience and fortitude that makes us a pretty tough group, practiced and equipped to handle the ever crazier world.  You the know the Nietzsche quote, ‘That which does not kill us makes us stronger’? Totally.

Resilience as a trait related to work success was the focus of Daryl Conner’s book Managing at the Speed of Change in the late 90s. It described (in much greater detail than below) these five characteristics of resilient people:

  • positive – view change as opportunity
  • focused – with a vision for re-establishing after disruption
  • flexible – high tolerance for ambiguity
  • organized – manage concurrent demands successfully
  • proactive – reframe changing situations coming up with new approaches

In a recently released book by George Anders called The Rare Find: Spotting Exceptional Talent Before Everyone Else Does, the author identifies resilience as a key to success and a quality for which companies should recruit. Bouncing back from something like a Hurricane Katrina actually makes someone a more attractive job candidate and a better employee during turbulent economic times? Imagine that!

So, if you are resilient, reflect it on your resume. 

Lastly, because a goal of this blog is to share useful information, here are a few more hurricane lessons:

  • If you live in a hurricane zone, empty your freezer by August and keep it that way until at least October.
  • Buy a five-day ice chest.
  • When a storm is imminent, wash all dirty clothes, dishes, and towels.  You will not regret this.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

(or maybe not – see: http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/one-thing-darwin-didnt-say)

Filed Under: Career Invention, Leadership Development, Organization Behavior Tagged With: , , , , , , ,