Monday, August 17, 2009

Planning for the loss of the planner...

In discussions with the CDC consultants over the past few months, I was really disappointed that they wanted more and more details for an event, that by definition, occurs in an ambiguous environment. I had prepared a variety of plans that could aply nearly anywhere that would be convenient for the emergency managers and jurisdictional leadership; school gymnasiums, parking lots or empty strip malls. These general flow paths gave the assigned staff flexibility.

I know that many individual prefer more structure than I require in order to accomplish a task. This need for structure, although not what I need for the completion of response to the complex scenarios of the Cities Readiness Initiative, would prove difficult for some colleagues.

I have decided to address the issue as though I will never be present for an activity. For our seasonal and H1N1 campaigns I have appointed operations chiefs, and I will only provide consultation; they must move through the phases, make assignments and so on. It is a little painful for some, but others rise to the challenge.

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