Hurricanes are like political elections, everything you ingest from news and friends is speculative chatter that is trivial until right before the event. As a native Floridian, and I have seen this same Greek tragedy for years. The pundits use emotion words, embellish potential catastrophic scenarios all to drive ratings. I am saying to prepare, not freak out. Mass Media’s goal is to elicit stress reactions from their audience, get them hooked, and keep them coming back for slices of minor updates. Catastrophic weather events are identical to the cable news cycle and your pundits are digital information dealers, who profit off your addiction. Stay informed, only ingest what is necessary but make sure you are prepared. Tactical preparation is a part of my daily regiment, and I figured some of my colleagues might have some reading time during the storm.
Prepare for Hurricanes
Protect your house
It’s not rocket science, Home Depot and Lowes have the necessities and will guide you. If you do stay home, have a quality generator and plenty of supplies.
Establish Connections Outside the Hurricane Zone
If you know someone in the hospitality industry, or close friends in non-hurricane zones, establish a hookup pre-hurricane season. Hotels have generators (aka air conditioning), food, bars and open spaces if you get cabin fever. Confinement in a house with no HVAC during a hurricane is tantamount to self-inflicted torture.
When the Danger is Gone Have Fun
One unique prep lesson for Floridians is that when there is hurricane “pump fake” it’s a great time to hit the theme parks. There are so many trips and flight cancellations, that the parks have almost no lines. It’s a great way to make some fun out of a tumultuous situation.
Prepare for Storms (Literally & Figuratively)
Stay Agile
Storms will inevitably come, but if you can remain agile, but carry the necessary tools to operate, you will hit more targets. If your competition is knocked down by inevitable unexpected tumultuous events outside of their control, you have an advantage.
Keep Your Tools w/ You at All Times
I have a backpack that goes everywhere with me that I call a “Hit Kit”. I created that term as an analogy to baseball terminology because life will inevitably throw you curveballs. When they are thrown, I want to have my bat ready to take a huge swing and turn them into opportunities.
Keep Your Hit Kit Organized
Know where each tool is located and keep them in the same compartment. Organization will save you time, decrease your chances of losing an item and will help your workflow.
Work from Anywhere
Storms are inherently inconvenient and cost us productivity (meeting cancellations, business travel, storm prep time, helping friends, etc.), but that doesn’t mean you can’t be productive in other facets of your responsibilities. Technology has made my backpack a virtual office and increased my agility. Archon executors operate more rapidly because we touch people, travel and move with ease, but without the downside of being out of pocket.
Final Thought
For most of us in Florida, it’s been a weird and stressful storm that has bled into the workweek. I saw how stressed a lot of my friends, family and colleagues were and didn’t enjoy seeing their stress reactions vs. those that gave thoughtful responses. Reactive anxiety can waste time, energy, cause trauma to the human body and inhibit clear thinking. If you’re prepared, you will not only weather storms but turn them into opportunities.
