As I watch the coverage of the bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, it struck me as surreal. I have been right where the bombs detonated hundreds of times in fact as late as this past Saturday. We went to watch them set up Copley Square for the race.
As I am watching the coverage, Twitter and Facebook, a couple of things struck me about the leaders who are managing the crisis, from the first responders to the hospitals and city and state leaders.
- Don’t draw conclusions or speculate until you have enough information
- Don’t be afraid to say I don’t know
- Don’t be afraid to say I’m not going to comment on that until I have more information
- Don’t lay blame until you know what happened
- Remain calm so that you think clearly
- Take a breath and move forward with certainty
These are all good points for any type of situation you may find yourself in. Not just during a crisis but in any situation that you need to make a decision or take action. So many times we get caught up in the heat of the moment that we forget the basics. We need to remember to ask the basics or who, what, where, why, when and how of any situation prior to communicating.
Too bad it takes a crisis to bring us back to basics.
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