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Business Rule #24:
Prepare for Disaster
April 8, 2005
(PAGE 2 of 3)
Was the logo fiasco predictable? Probably not. People in the business of providing a service, such as silk screening, are generally assumed to be marginally competent, usually safely so. No, this disaster was an earthquake. There probably wasn’t enough time to have produced duplicates at the outset of making the samples, and there certainly wasn’t time to make new clothes once they were defaced with backwards lettering.
Magna though wouldn’t be deterred. One of the things that saved them was their preparation. They had an earthquake kit in the form of market research. The American Eagle executives wanted to know how knowledgeable the teams were about their market. So they asked both teams, “What is the single most popular electronics device for our customers?” For Magna, a “cell phone” was the clear, definitive quick answer. Magna earned its confidence—the team started this challenge by visiting an American Eagle Outfitters store and asking customers about their preferences in electronics.
But the real test of disaster preparedness is how people respond in the face of adversity. Let me give you an example. While helping out a friend on the set of a student film, I had the chance to watch amateur movie makers assemble for a late night shoot. The director had permission to use a mom-and-pop diner after hours as a location for just this one night. She had several scenes to photograph. If she couldn’t get them completed in a few hours, this location would have to be cut from the film. It was quite an elaborate set up. It took over an hour just to get the lights and camera in position in the restaurant.
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Most of the people on this team were volunteers with day jobs. So they were tired by the time the shooting began. On the first take, one of the actors blew her line; on the second take another actor missed his cue; and on the third take of the evening, the film fell out of the camera. The cameraman had a fit, cursing and slamming equipment around.
The director may not have been out of college yet, but she was already a pro when it came to managing people in difficult situations. She pulled the cameraman aside, explaining that everyone expects the film to fall out of the camera. No one is surprised by that. What the crew doesn’t expect is the cameraman to pitch a hissy fit when it happens. The cameraman pulled himself together and shot without incident for the rest of the night. The director’s skill at leading under pressure let her keep the diner scenes in the film. Once finished, her student short went on to get significant play on the internet.
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The real test of disaster preparedness is how people respond in the face of
