Deluges and debriefs

Last week I visited Calgary in Alberta for a Board meeting of the Wood Group. Earlier in the summer Calgary was hit by very severe floods which affected both down town and many suburbs. It is still a major talking point. Flow rates on the rivers that flow through the city were between five and ten times their normal levels and over 100,000 people were displaced during the height of the damage.

In common with many companies Wood Group start meetings with a safety moment and as you would expect this time the focus was on crisis management. The key message was that it is important to remember what you wish you had done before the event so that next time you are better prepared. It reminded me of the importance of proper debriefing after anything significant (good or bad) which I first heard from an ex member of the Red Arrows air display team. They do a proper debrief after every display even if its gone really well.  Frequently we don't capture lessons, take remedial action and therefore improve next time and, in business as in other walks of life, we should.