Planned Resilience: Are We Setting Ourselves up to Fail?

Plans written for delivery by an idealised concept of the person completing the job role, rather than a living breathing being, may be overlooking fundamental flaws.

As the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger declared “errare humanum est”, meaning that in spite of our best efforts people are fallible beings. Whilst action plans vary in complexity and efficacy, very few seem to make allowances for the human factor in their delivery, which may lead to their operational failure. 

‘Plans’ in this context refers to a set of protocols or actions to be taken, whether to complete business as usual or in emergency situations. They are found in every business and industry, ranging from simple fire evacuation plans to multi-agency emergency procedures. Whilst this framework of consideration (described below) originated from observing and working within the events industry, its application transcends any individual sector. The aim is not to cast aspersion, but to highlight the differences between the idealised world that the plans are generally written for (populated entirely by highly motivated, well-trained, perfect staff) and reality. 

Read the full article