Help your 2011 preparedness initiatives get off to a great start by creating shared goals with your team, and look to see that they follow the SMARTER guidelines:

Specific – have such clarity that everyone understands the intended outcome

Measurable – pick a measurement that matters and remember: quality often means more than quantity

Achievable  - be sure that the goal can be accomplished with your available resources

Relevant – tie your goals to your primary mission

Time-plotted – create a timeline with milestones and a firm end date

Engaging – meaningfully engage your team and extended community in creating and fulfilling your preparedness goals

Resilient – build in back up people and plans so that your project can withstand the inevitable shifts in funding, personnel turnover, and social trends.

Let’s all be SMARTER about preparedness in 2011!

Tip: Give everyone the SMARTER list and help your team become brilliant at creating, refining and fulfilling on project goals.

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January 3rd, 2011 | Tags: goal, guideline, list, mnemonic, plan, Preparedness, team | Category: 2011, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

As the year 2010 comes to an end, take time to reflect on — and document — all that was and wasn’t accomplished with your emergency preparedness and disaster readiness initiatives.  Thumb through your to-do lists, preparedness promises, planning calendars and other records to capture: what worked, what didn’t, what still needs to be done, and what items should be revisited.

It doesn’t matter whether your projects were booming successes, crashing failures, non-starters or something else.  Whatever you find, simply acknowledge it, document it, and move forward.  Begin 2011 by being complete with 2010, strengthened by your successes and failures, with a clean slate, and with renewed energy for future efforts.

Tip: Give the members of your team the opportunity to be complete as well. Whether they were the rock stars of readiness or the dead-weights of your disaster work, give everyone the chance to start fresh.

Happy New Year to all. Thank you for supporting CARD and our efforts to serve nonprofits! We are looking forward to serving you in 2011.

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December 27th, 2010 | Tags: disaster, disasters, emergency preparedness, message, New Year Preparedness, Preparedness, Year End | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The holidays are filled with opportunities to give your time to make a difference.  Even small amounts of time spent volunteering can make a big difference in the preparedness and safety of your agency, community, or family.

Some ideas:

However much time you have available for volunteering, dedicate at least a small portion to building the safety and resilience of your community!

Tip: Remember to check out your local Volunteer Center for more opportunities to connect.

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December 20th, 2010 | Tags: gift, Holiday, holiday preparedness, Preparedness, safety minded gift, time, volunteer | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Many of us will engage in sharing gifts with colleagues, neighbors, friends, family and teammates at holiday parties. For safety enthusiasts this is a wonderful way to share your passion for preparedness. You can increase the readiness of all participants by incorporating safety sensibilities and helpful items into the event itself.

Some ideas:

• Shiny silver mylar blankets make excellent, reusable table cloths and curtains
• Small LED flashlights can be used by each person to signal when they have a toast, acknowledgment or comment to share
• Wrap presents with bandanas — decorated with colorful Sharpie markers or tied with ribbon — which can then be added to personal go-kits

This is a great way to show the everyday utility and practicality of preparedness supplies and gently thread awareness through your event.

Tip: Take lots of photos and after the party, ask people if they can point out all the ways safety and preparedness items appear in the pictures.

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December 13th, 2010 | Tags: emergency preparedness, Holiday, holiday preparedness, Preparedness | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

One of the most valued gifts you can give is to make people aware of the difference they make. Prepare before your next team gathering to give special thanks, appreciation and acknowledgment – publicly and privately – to the people who make preparedness a reality.

Emergency responders are deservedly given all kinds of accolades and praise, so be sure to bring special attention to the champions of the less glamorous tasks of daily safety and preparedness.  Look over your team roster and see what steps people took to forward safety and preparedness. Did they patiently push-through the bureaucracy of a grant, or perhaps do all the scheduling for a class or drill, or were they the consistently smiling and willing “go to” participant?

Seek out the unsung, behind-the-scenes heroes of your preparedness efforts and sing out their praises.

Tip: Beyond helping people to recognize preparedness as a noble and heroic undertaking, have your words also help people to value simply being consistent and persistent in fulfilling on a stated goal.

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December 6th, 2010 | Tags: appreciate, communication, Holiday, Preparedness, team | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Customized, pre-printed address labels offer budget-conscious preparedness zealots a multitude of solutions. Several companies allow you to upload a logo and write up to 4 lines of text – all online.  For under $20 you can create several attractive labels to suit your preparedness needs.

Suggestions:

• Create an inventory sticker and ensure your preparedness supplies are clearly and consistently labeled.

• Correct out-dated or wrong information – addresses, phone numbers, websites, preparedness instructions (Example: standing in a doorway during an earthquake is outdated, wrong and dangerous!)

• Add new information to existing preparedness materials – add staff contacts, social media sites, new services offered.
• Label your preparedness giveaways or other distributed materials as being “Provided by” your agency and include your website or contact information.

Be creative — labels are fast, easy, low-cost ways to improve your safety and preparedness materials.

Tip: If you use generic business cards for everyone in your department or company, attractive, printed address labels can be used for individual names and email addresses.

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November 22nd, 2010 | Tags: business cards, Labels, office, Preparedness | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Few office supplies can rival the simple Post-it note for ease-of-use and convenience in emergency and disaster planning. Getting everyone involved in planning is one of the most important things you can do, and Post-it notes allow for fast and easy engagement.

A great way to start: put an emergency planning question on a bulletin board and have everyone write a suggestion on a Post-it. This gives everyone an easy way to contribute, and the person with responsibility a fast way to sort ideas.

Starter questions:

1. What emergency foods should we stock?
2. What needs to happen in the next four hours if we have to Shelter-in-Place?
3. Which people should fill each role on our emergency organization chart?

Bust out the Post-it notes in your next meeting and encourage creativity!

Tip: Check out the many different Post-it products available to help with your emergency planning.

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November 8th, 2010 | Tags: engagement, office, planing, Preparedness, simple, supplies | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Every year billions of dollars of products and services are sold using commercials. In one minute or less, companies use words, images, and music to tell a story designed to encourage consumers to feel something, think differently, and take action.  Whether or not you currently have a “commercial” for your preparedness program, you can reap the benefits of thinking about how to share your safety effort in 60 seconds.

Poll your team to find two or three commercials that most of you have seen and enjoy. Dissect the best commercial to determine what makes it memorable, and then stretch your brains around how you could use the same techniques to promote your preparedness programs. Have fun, act it out, and video tape your efforts!

Tip:  Check out the Clio Awards or search for “best commercials” for more great samples.

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October 18th, 2010 | Tags: agency, Couch Potato Preparedness, Preparedness, team, video | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Virtually every emergency supply list includes advice about storing food for emergencies and disasters. Help your team to think of stored food as a resource “to thrive” not just “to survive” when emergencies happen.

Empower and support your team in making healthy food choices – help them prepare for health!

Tip: Encourage people to keep healthy snacks at work: nuts, dried fruit, granola, chewable vitamins, etc. In an emergency, it will help people to be more resilient and self-sufficient.

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September 13th, 2010 | Tags: emergency preparedness, food, health, Preparedness, Public Health, thrive | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment