The text I got from my daughter at 2:52 PM on April 15 said "Explosions at the Boston marathon finish line. We are ok and as far as we know none of our friends were there." I turned on CNN - and we rarely turned it off for the next four days.
I was amazed at the amount of information we were getting. We had live coverage at the location of the bombings, multiple video recordings of the event, interviews with those close to the activity, and commentary by "experts". It was all too similar to the situation we face every day in business, a torrent of information that we are all trying to make sense of and use to plan our next moves. What we discover along the way is that much of the information is inaccurate, over-emphasized, or irrelevant. Just like a reporter, we are trying to get at the facts and the implications.
The first video I actually saw of the bombs going off was gripping. What I noticed right away was that people did run away from the spot, but far more people ran toward it to help those in need. It wasn't just police, it was race volunteers, doctors, runners, spectators - all working together to meet the needs of the victims.
One doctor they interviewed, who was at the finish line medical tent to treat runners with dehydration, spoke of having to change gears and deal with trauma injuries. Another said it reminded him of his service in Iraq during the war. All the medical staff who were on site relied on their training and experience to work as a team to triage the injuries and keep people alive until they could be moved to hospitals.
That teamwork was evident throughout the week. Think of all the different departments, agencies, governments, and resources that worked together with a common purpose. Think of how big a deal it is to shut down a metropolitan area - and people did it voluntarily because they had enough of the facts to know that it was truly in their best interest to do so. Giving your employees and your customers the facts might change how they respond to your requests.
The technology that supported the effort was impressive. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of raw date being instantaneously analyzed - security camera recordings, video from broadcasters and spectators, still photos from the press and spectators, cell phone calls, 911 calls, etc., etc. Imagine the deluge of information once they released the suspects images, filtered and analyzed within minutes, allowing the agencies to properly allocate and position their resources.
Finally, in a time when many people love to hate government, the crowds were out Friday night and over the weekend cheering the police and first responders. We appreciate the people who make the effort and get the results.
I was struck by the leadership, teamwork, use of technology, communication, and commitment I saw. These are the same traits that can make any business successful.
