The Blog

In a 2012 keynote speech at the Smithsonian, I heard a renowned system scientist say: "The challenge of our lifetimes will be to manage the decline of civilization."  It felt like every single person in that auditorium stopped breathing. Like time paused; if only for a moment. I've never been in... Read more

Today I offer two pieces of advice in this time of increasing intensity. The first is to try and stay grounded. To not panic. The second is to... Read more

There Is No Single National Coordination System For Disaster Response NO, there is no single US system to help everyone in every state and in every hospital get the critical... Read more

I feel like the US is slowly catching up to what I've known for years. I knew we were not ready for a catastrophe - especially more than one at a time. I... Read more

One of the things that happens in disasters is information overwhelm. Especially in the information age. It's a big issue inside the response, but it's a... Read more

Big Infrastructure Action NCAA cancelled in-person attendance at the March Madness tournament today. This post is a super quick look at how some post-9/11... Read more

Today's word is "devolution." Yesterday I talked about two fairly dark subjects... pandemic planning, and continuity of government / continuity of operations... Read more

The darkest areas I've ever worked in in disaster management are continuity planning, and pandemic planning. The worst-case scenarios are usually too much... Read more

I don't think we're going to go full apocalypse. There may be people who see posts like mine and the widespread increasing panic out there and think we are... Read more

This official US Government tweet shows the level of professionalism and calm we are going to get from the federal government in this crisis: obviously very... Read more

Hello! It's the middle of the night, and apparently this is the time in which I decide to write haunting posts about homeland security. Tonight's post is... Read more

Hi all! I started this as a little life update, but it turns out it's more of a clarion call.I feel like I'm on the eve of something big. We're in a time of... Read more

The Spectre When it comes to dealing with the current state of the country, I feel like I had a bit of a head start.  I moved to Iowa from Washington, DC in the fall of 2015… just as the races were really heating up for the Iowa Caucus set for February of 2016.  So much for leaving the politics of Washington. As I started to settle into my new life in the midwest, the spectre of Donald Trump was becoming more ominous.  He seemed to be everywhere.  His intention to be a disruptor was crystal clear. I had a talk about Mr. Trump on a phone call with a friend of mine around that time.  It was November of 2015, and I can tell you right... Read more

The thing is, when people take action meant to burn it all down, there's a chance it will actually all burn down. Once a disastrous fire is burning, you don't know where it will... Read more

Active shooter again today.  This time it's at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School (#StonemanShooting) in #ParklandFlorida. Every time there is an active shooter incident, it is a chance to think and talk about how you would react.  It is a chance for... Read more

Y'all, @600 people were shot at one single incident in the past year in Las Vegas. There are active shooter incidents every few days in the US. Orlando in... Read more

Holding space today for everyone in Las Vegas and those connected to the incident. Unfortunately, active shooters are part of our way of life now. We can hold space for those affected, but we... Read more

"You can't transform something you won't look at." - Dixie St. John It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and a bit paralyzed.  We tend to resist change, even when risk is... Read more

"Anchor and Flank" is at the core of the counterfear process (check out the Focus Area page "Anchor and Flank" for more).  It comes from fire.  In fact, it's a core principle of wildland firefighting,... Read more

"I remember exactly that moment when the whole world stopped & we saw each other standing there. Wondering how we ever forgot that we are all light wanting to shine for each other." - Brian Andreas, StoryPeople Yesterday I tried to write a blog post about 9/11.  Well, if I’m honest, I started trying to write it on Friday.  Didn’t work.  Didn’t... Read more

"First things first." Creating the space is one of my own personal go-to favourite coaching tools.  It’s pretty simple.  You have to create the space for what you want.  You may want peace.  Vision.  Rest.  Progress.  You can reach these - even for a moment - by creating some space for them.  If... Read more

This here is a tool you can use daily.  It's fast.  And it's effective. Every day, take five minutes and write a list of: 5 things you are grateful for 5 things that you... Read more

The title here sounds dramatic and perhaps a bit grandiose.  I reckon that's because this here is one hell of a personal disaster tale.  And, I’m still trying to walk correctly. Here’s the super-short story, from last February.  On a Thursday, my brother and my dad flew in to help me gut and start the remodel of the only bathroom in my... Read more

Lately I’ve been busy writing an abbreviated history of my life and times for The Blog and the website.  One of the dangers and benefits of all the writing is that it inspires other... Read more

This post is part of the "Counterfear Tools" blog series. Does Fear Tie to a Lack of Resilience? I’ve thought for years about resilience, and how to explain it.  Explaining resilience can feel overwhelming, because it can be so complex.  But, that is because life is complex.  When you boil it down a bit, resilience gets simpler.  We may well have more fear in areas where we suspect... Read more