Lessons Learned
in the Aftermath of
Hurricanes Harvey & Irma

Hello!
I am Kevin Hall
Director of Product, Resilience, at Resolver
kevin.hall@resolver.com
Your
Photo
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Resilience Organization
re·sil·ience
rəˈzilyəns/
noun
noun: resilience; plural noun: resiliences; noun: resiliency; plural noun: resiliencies
1.
the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
"the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions"
2.
the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
"nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"

Lessons Learned

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

People First
▪ People are the most important
▪ Close early
▪ Give them time to prepare
▪ Account for your personnel
▪ Offer assistance and flexibility
▪ Prepare for emotional impacts
▪ What language?

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

Hurricane Impact Video

Wannacry
Petya
Xafecopy
Kedi RAT

Reality
Don’t be distracted by the
way it has been
Be a realist not an actuarial
Understand it is your
responsibility
Prepare for multi-events
Can you sustain your
response?
Face reality

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No
Really Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

Clusters

Clusters
• Chaos Theory • Butterfly Effect • Cause & Effect
Bad Luck • Karma • Bad Ju Ju

Clusters
Paranoia: the irrational fear that seemingly unrelated events and
entities may not be so.

Clusters
Self Inflicted
• Stressed out people
• Didn’t account for it
• Unforeseen ripples
Who would have thunk it?
• A leak - example
• Phone number - example

Clusters
Focus on
structure and
processes
Avoid self
infliction
Practice
adaptability
Practice
unrelated events
(brainstorming)
Contingency
resources

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

Executive Management (v)

Executive Management
The Problem
• No/limited involvement in planning
• No real impact during exercises
• Don’t approve the funds or resources needed
• Expect things to go smoothly when disaster strikes
• Surprised when things go wrong

People First
▪ Use this presentation
▪ Take individual stories to your boss
▪ Manage a distracted boss
▪ Get help if needed
▪ Recruit a boss baby
▪ I told you so

Questions
• Why did the exec have to take over?
• Were there holes in the plans?
• Did you accept no involvement?
• Do you take no for an answer?
• Was your case adequate?
• Heart case or business case?
• Are you just beat down?

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

DATA

1.7 MEGABYTES
PER HUMAN
By 2020,
of new information will be generated every second

DATA

People First
▪ Think of the crisis as a system
▪ Recruit a data scientist or business analyst
▪ Include data requirements in exercises
▪ Setup regular checks for maintenance
▪ Design team dashboards

People First
▪ Think of the crisis as a system
▪ Recruit a data scientist or business analyst
▪ Include data requirements in exercises
▪ Setup regular checks for maintenance
▪ Design team dashboards

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No
Really Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

Test. No, Really – Test.
Test the basic components
Message test regularly and
correct problems
Take HR out for lunch
Test all locations, not just US
Understand nuances with each
location
Don’t forget those “occasional”
activities (i.e.: data integrations)

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

Communicate
Build ongoing communication
program within your
organization
Market your program – hire an
agency
Tap into your employee
communications program
Talk to them more than just in
tests or emergencies
Consider giveaways and make it
fun and engaging
It is your job!

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t Forget

TRANSITION HEADLINE

Puerto Rico
US Territory Since 1898
Unincorporated Territory
Born in Puerto Rico = US Citizenship
NOT a state
Puerto Rico has no vote in Congress
Puerto Ricans can NOT
vote for the US President
Puerto Ricans CAN vote in
party primaries
IF a state it would rank 30th

People First Reality Clusters Executive
Management
Data, Data,
Data
Test, No Really
Test
Communicate Puerto Rico Don’t
Forget

Don’t Forget
▪ Don’t be satisfied that you survived the event
▪ Log more during post events
▪ Don’t let execs forget (some event promised money
during hurricanes)
▪ Focus on you will change quickly

Resilience Organization
re·sil·ience
rəˈzilyəns/
noun
noun: resilience; plural noun: resiliences; noun: resiliency; plural noun: resiliencies
1.
the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
"the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions"
2.
the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
"nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"

Thanks!
Any questions?
kevin.hall@resolver.com