How to respond to crisis at every turn
The chinese word for crisis is Wei Ji 危机 Wei means danger, while Ji means opportunity and in the ancient chinese philosophy, danger and opportunity live side by side. It pays to hold true to that philosophy to find the strength to move forward with our own crisis.
Sometimes it’s hard to see. I just got off the phone from a man who is in the midst of a terrible custody battle. Tough. He was crying and distressed with the possibility of losing his children and didn’t want to put any foot wrong under duress in court.
And what of the Sydney stabbing horror this week? Where are the opportunities? For me, it was in the witnessing of the bravery of police officer Amy Scott and the obvious excellence of the training at NSW police. I found myself crying to think of Inspector Scott running towards danger, calling “Drop the knife” twice and then pulling her gun out of its holster and shooting with a split-second notice. That’s muscle memory.
I also think of the French men with the bollards and the young men running with Inspector Scott to help. Then there was the man with the family who, when Couchi ran towards him, turned and spread his arms wide to sacrifice himself and protect his wife and children. Fortunately for him, Couchi veered away when only a few feet away. Seriously, that bloke can sit on a soft lounge chair and make demands for the rest of his life. If anyone complains, he can suggest they rerun the video, which I would have running on a loop on the large screen in the centre of the lounge room. I’d love to know his history because a response to a crisis is not always natural it is often built from past experience or training.
At the same time, there is a major event unfolding in England that has captivated my attention, because of the performances at two extremes.
This event was the Post Office Scandal. These people were running their lives in a business and never expected to be on the international media being interrogated. But they are.
You might have seen the series “Mr Bates vs the Post Office’. Now there is an ongoing Inquiry that runs now into its 120th day and is riveting viewing on YouTube.
Here are some of the highlights for me:
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Good: Mr Bates himself has been cool, with a sense of professionalism and humour from the start. There is such an incredible lesson for him about laughing rather than crying. Here are some of the ‘best bits’ of his testimony
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Good: Superb have been the Chair of the Committee, labour MP Darren Jones and Council, Jason Beer (seen throughout) and retired Tory MP Lord Arbuthnot
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Bad: Too many to mention here, but I so question the choice of posture for x-post office boss David Smith. This is a case some are calling corporate manslaughter and the lopsided body could be translated as lack of energy and contempt. Why would you do that?
Your actions
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Watch the series “Mr Bates vs the Post Office on 7+
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Go to YouTube and enter ‘latest Post Office Enquiry update’
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Remember, you never know when a crisis will hit you and it is good to have strategies. What is your muscle memory in a crisis?
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And remember, Wei Ji 危机 . . . . or, as my mother would say. “That that does not kill you, makes you strong”
Love to hear your thoughts.
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