In the last posting I described the excellent job done by the University of Alabama at Birmingham in exercising their state of preparedness to address the threat of pandemic influenza. At the end I posed a question: "Do you know that doing this type of planning for avian flu actually has benefits that go way beyond preparedness for flu?"
Most often pandemic planning is done, if at all, for the direct purpose of addressing the pandemic threat. Just as often, it is this singleness of focus that is the reason an organization does not plan or exercise the plan. An official may believe that there is so much his/her organization has to do that this is “just one more thing” and that existing plans will have to make do. He/she may also just hope that nothing happens “on their watch.”
Now, we have all heard that “hope is not a strategy” whether in this context or another. But that doesn’t mean that hope isn’t used as a strategy too often. This is especially a problem when the media reporting lulls, as it is doing now. “The problem is over” is too easy a conclusion to reach for generations of professionals raised on quick TV fixes and a strong even well founded belief in technological silver bullets, such as a vaccine or other drug. And that means that planning is not done and preparedness is absent or an illusion.
Benefits Beyond Flu Prep
So, some other incentive is needed to get and keep preparedness planning moving. I have noticed that pandemic planning offers at least two incentives: (while focused on influenza)
- Pandemic planning builds the capacity for the organization to deal with other types of infectious diseases that could be a problem, including those that might be terrorist-induced. The procedures required for influenza response and other infectious diseases are not often, if ever, covered adequately or comprehensively by existing plans and drills on how to deal with other emergencies.
- Pandemic planning also develops better organizations more able to do their “regular” work because they did plan. This happens because pandemic planning requires working across the organization to establish coordination and communication among people who generally live in the “stove pipes” of an organization.
What is a "Stove-piped" organization?"
For those of you who may not be familiar with the term “stove-pipes,” this refers to the tendency for the parts or departments or offices within an organization to have little or no real contact with the workings of others doing other jobs within that same organization.
"Stove-piped organizations are antiquated organizations"
They are not able to move as quickly as organizations must to compete effectively in today’s fast paced workplace. They were built for stability, not for fast response and adaptability.
So, when you do what is needed to prepare for the pandemic threat, you must cause cross-talk within the organization. Doing this exposes each organizational segment to others. People learn what others are doing and why. They learn about elements essential for the success of their own organization. They learn how their work fits and why it is valuable. They learn who their internal “customers and suppliers” are, and how to work more effectively with them.
In short, the preparedness dialogue and learning cause the organization to update itself, to come into the 21st century world of flexibility and adaptivity, to seize possibilities and make them real.
Preparedness planning increases business capabilities. Exercises build potential. The work plants seeds in the organization that take root naturally and grow to be valued in other aspects of the business.
Finally, building organizational capacity this way is easier, cheaper, faster, and more effective than standard training can be. Preparedness is a “two-fer.” Your organization gets two beneficial outcomes for the price of one.
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Our Pandemic Preparedness Services and Preparedness Planning Reports are aimed at providing organizations with accurate and comprehensive information, planning, and advice before a pandemic strikes, and assistance to minimize risk.
To request assistance with a preparedness challenge that you or your organization may be having, please contact us, or visit with Donald Frazier.
