You had a couple days to prepare for that BIG one on the way. But now you gotta get outta here. Who do you wnt to run the show? Who do you think is going to better mitigate the damage? When you need to get to that shelter, who's going to have all that information ready for you? Who is going to make sure the shelter is open, ready, and fully functioning?
Who is better prepared to deal with a disaster - a CEO or a community organizer?
My money is on the CO. Although both operate as leaders, how they lead is different. The CEO creates a business plan that is implemented using the authority that investors give to the CEO to benefit the investors, the CO seeks a cooperation and concensus from the groups that will serve the community. They are both focused on results though the beneficiaries of the results are different.
To help you with your decision follow me past the schadenfreutoris.
CEO: Hurricane Andrew
At a White House news conference today Mr. Bush asserted that the Federal Government was "responding promptly and massively to the hurricane disaster," and added that even though Florida officials had criticized the Federal relief effort, "I am satisfied that we responded properly."
But interviews with officials at numerous Federal agencies suggest that there was a breakdown in communication and coordination at top levels of the Government.
(emphasis mine)
CO - Hurricane Floyd
Although the weather was clear and hot today, county officials decided not to delay the evacuation orders, figuring that it could take as long as 28 hours to clear the county's 225,500 people. Surrounded by rivers and inlets, the county is particularly difficult to evacuate, and it has been 10 years since officials have even tried -- back when there was an abortive strike by Hurricane Hugo.
As a result, the interstates and other arteries out of town were packed from sunrise until well past nightfall, as residents headed to fully booked hotels in central Georgia and relatives in Atlanta. All lanes on Interstate 16, the main route from the coast, were made westbound for 90 miles, and on some sections, walking was faster.
''It's just a good thing we're not in a hurry,'' said a woman who called a Savannah radio station on her cell phone this afternoon. ''If Floyd were coming today, we'd be killing each other out here.''
(emphasis mine)
CEO - Hurricane Katrina
Republicans had been pressing the White House for days to fire "Brownie," Michael D. Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who had stunned many television viewers in admitting that he did not know until 24 hours after the first news reports that there was a swelling crowd of 25,000 people desperate for food and water at the New Orleans convention center.
Mr. Brown, who was removed from his Gulf Coast duties on Friday, though not from his post as FEMA's chief, is the first casualty of the political furor generated by the government's faltering response to the hurricane. With Democrats and Republicans caustically criticizing the performance of his agency, and with the White House under increasing attack for populating FEMA's top ranks with politically connected officials who lack disaster relief experience, Mr. Brown had become a symbol of President Bush's own hesitant response>.
(emphasis mine)
CO - Hurricane Irene
The storm, or the anticipation of it, upended everyday life from the Carolinas to New England, as communities went into lockdown mode and governments declared states of emergency. Amtrak canceled all train service in the Northeast, while airlines canceled thousands of flights and Newark Liberty International Airport, Kennedy International Airport and La Guardia Airport shut down.
Major League Baseball postponed games. Broadway plays went dark in deference to nature’s more dramatic production. And, if Cairo Wine and Liquor in Washington is any measure, liquor stores enjoyed brisk, storm-related business. (“It’s like New Year’s Eve,” Gary Lyles, an employee, said. “They’re buying everything. Wine. Beer. Even water.”)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still seeking to redeem itself from its spotty performance after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, had 18 disaster-response teams in place along the East Coast, with stockpiles of food, water and mobile communications equipment ready to go.(emphasis mine) The Coast Guard: more than 20 rescue helicopters and reconnaissance planes ready to take off. The Defense Department: 6,500 active duty military personnel poised for deployment. The National Guard: about 101,000 members available to respond. The American Red Cross: more than 200 emergency response vehicles and tens of thousands of ready-to-eat meals in areas due to be hit by the storm.