The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake: a case study
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In a crisis maintaining an operational focus is key to success
At the recent annual conference for the International Association of Emergency Managers I was fortunate to hear presentations by a number of the major academics supporting our profession. One thing that struck me was the similar views expressed by Dr. Dennis Miletti, a sociologist, and Dr. Brian Fagan, a historian specializing historical climate change. Both […]
Hospital death continues to teach crisis management lessons
San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi Photo: SF Chronicle As many of my readers know, I generally do not follow stories, preferring to draw lessons from events rather than to report them. However, the story of the missing patient found dead at San Francisco General Hospital several weeks ago continues to evolve and to offer […]
The Upside of Disasters: Rethinking the Loma Prieta earthquake
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Hospital death and crisis management
Last week I wrote about the finding at San Francisco General of the body of a patient who had been missing for almost two weeks. Since then, the team at SF General has done an excellent job of managing the crisis. Here are some of the key lessons: Show empathy. Displaying empathy with the victim and […]
Hospital death a case study in crisis management
It's every hospital administrator's nightmare: the unexplained death of a patient under the hospital's care. However, it does provide a good case study in crisis management. Read what is known about the case and then share your thoughts in the comments section. Over two weeks ago, a patient was admitted to San Francisco General Hospital […]
Who’s setting priorities for the government shut down?
One of the hardest things for a manager to do is to set priorities. We face an array of conflicting demands on our limited resources and are often confronted with things that are urgent but not important as opposed to things that are important but not urgent. It becomes almost impossible to set priorities when […]
Customer Service: A Tale of Two Hotels
My wife and I were recently guests at a four star hotel and spa. The rooms were comfortable, the views stunning, and the food excellent. We won't be going back. The reasons are minor. We arrived too late for any spa treatments but were offered the use of the steam and sauna rooms and an […]
Focus, Patience and Dignity: A Tail from the Dog Park
Lolita with her prize Lolita, or Lolly to her friends, is a grande dame of the dog park. A bit of a curmudgeon, she has staked out her personal space and all the regular dogs know to give her a wide berth. Not that she's mean or vicious – she's just dignified and won't put […]