I’m sure all of us are paying close attention to the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and thinking about how it has and will affect our families, organizations, and society. It’s too soon to say whether this will be long-term disruptive crisis or eventually turn into “just” a more severe version of the flu. In the meantime, fear of the unknown is driving decision-making – both good and bad.
I’ve seen my fair share of crises in my three decade career, which have made me more than a little conservative and perhaps a bit OCD about contingency planning. Some were even coincidentally compounded, like when the sharp downturn in the telecom market in 2001 led me have to announce the closure of a major manufacturing facility… the day before 9/11. I’ve tried to learn from those incidents, as I am from the current. Lessons are being taught by the coronavirus outbreak, but it’s important to use them to analyze the broader perspective. Some than I’m thinking about:
Don’t ignore simple solutions. We can significantly protect ourselves and others by simply washing our hands correctly and by not touching our faces. In what other situations do we have similarly simple solutions, often known but not reinforced by standard work and requirement, and instead choose to invest in expensive countermeasures?
Continue reading on the Gemba Academy blog…
James La Trobe-Bateman says
Simple solutions, always a ‘yes’ if they are at least somewhat effective. I am interested in the possible long term positives coming from this. Do you remember when Jerry Seinfeld was talking to Pres Obama (Comedians in Cars)? He asked Obama what sport politics was like and Obama said that it was like (american) football. Most of the time you get nowhere, but once in a while the field is open and then you go for it. The virus will give us some open field moments, that would not otherwise be there.