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 A crisis reveals a system.

You will see this played out on the evening news nearly every day. A hurricane, rising gas prices, child abuse in a school, a scandal in government – each event/crisis will lead to a closer examination of the system which gave birth to the crisis. Reporters will swarm and dig and report to the public how public agencies responded, how we are too dependent on foreign oil, why children are left alone during hours of the day and how lobbyists influence government. The crisis itself will open a door to understanding of a system that was heretofore hidden or misunderstood. Likewise in an organization, a breakdown, a failure or a threatening crisis will draw immediate attention and attempts to discover how things happen –how the I.T. department really works, why distribution is inefficient and how advertising is completely off base.  A healthy organization will not live the “unexamined life.”   Leaders will maintain a vibrant curiosity about how things work, how things are changing and continually communicate these things to everyone who needs to know. Do not accept the status quo in any part of your organization. Do not wait for the crisis to reveal to you what is not working.