The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for effective crisis response. Humans have been studying crisis situations for many years. Best practices for crisis response have been developed and refined. We humans are employing them now, albeit not as effectively or as early as we might have hoped. These are the most important lessons that I see us learning in our COVID-19 response thus far. They could apply to any future crisis situation, including alien Direct First Contact.
Be Proactive
Don’t wait until problems develop to work on response. Use thoughtful consideration and imagination to identify possible future problems and develop responses before they become a crisis. Listen to others.
Be Knowledgeable
Seek out information and best practices. Use data to inform decision making. Understand that data can be incomplete or wrong. Use critical thinking at each step. Collect better data. Find new ways to analyze the best data.
Be Cautious
Crisis requires us to protect ourselves and our civilization. Use thoughtful consideration in decision-making. Consider both short-term and long-term impacts.
Be Practical
Take care of the most immediate needs first. Use the resources you have available. Seek out new resources. Identify new needs. In crisis everyone has a part to play. Your part may not be obvious at first, but it will reveal itself if you look carefully. Get involved and make a difference.
Be Creative
Find new ways to do the things that are most important.
Move Forward
Crisis inevitably calls for action. Move forward employing all of the previous actions. Have a clear process to decide what has worked and what is not working. Keep refining your response.
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
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