Last week, in an ongoing discussion regarding the US National focus during September on disaster preparedness, I stated that, “Prudence and leadership are definitely close cousins. And the month of September is a great month to practice both.”
That said, sometimes it is helpful to take a topic like this and break it down into smaller chunks and then to place each component on a calendar. With this in mind, I provide the following, which in large measure is extracted from the CDC website (quoted sections are italicized):
Throughout September, CDC and more than 3000 organizations—national, regional, and local governments, as well as private and public organizations—are supporting emergency preparedness efforts for “Preparedness Month” 2015. The CDC Website provides a weekly focus for those who want to break preparedness into practical focused steps of action as follows:
•Week 1: Family - Disaster preparedness starts with personal preparedness for you and your family. Each family has unique needs that must be accounted for in their preparedness plans. Children, older adults, and individuals with medical conditions and physical disabilities all have unique needs during and after disasters. [Click here for help with personal emergency preparation]
•Week 2: Neighborhood - Those in closest proximity to you during an emergency are most likely to be the first to offer help. [We]… encourage individuals to meet neighbors and develop emergency preparedness plans with those who live around them--taking into account individuals' unique needs. [Click here for resources to help in coordinating with your neighbors and local community]
•Week 3: Workplace and School - Whether you are at work or home or your child is in school it is important for individuals to know specific threats and hazards in their area, emergency signals, evacuation routes, and locations of shelters in their community. We … encourage people to maintain an emergency preparedness kit at work and [to] discuss disaster plans with their co-workers. [Click here for assistance in preparing your business]
•Final 4 Days: Online - We [encourage you to stress] the importance of sharing preparedness resources with your online social media community (social networks, apps, texting).
As has been emphasized in the past two Leadership Notes, Leaders look ahead - and take action to prepare contingencies accordingly. With that in mind, and based on the existing US effort to encourage preparation during the month of September, I will continue to focus on this topic for the next few weeks in an effort to stimulate those who lead to do so.
PS - You can also find additional information at the following commercial site (this is not an endoresment of the site, rather it is simply another location for useful information).