spRING 2011 GlobAl MARKETs INTERNATIoNAl - Willis

dIsaster management
Also, since your mine will not fall out of the sky
if things go wrong, your staff aren’t trained how
to respond when a disaster occurs, so you have
two options – to use the resources you have
with whatever capabilities they possess, or to
import specialist help.
What sort of response can you expect from
your staff? That depends upon the type of staff
you have and it also depends upon the type of
organisation they are working in.
There are some typical personality types that
I come across time and again, both in small
operations and in those operated by large
multi-nationals.
94 | Willis | Mining Market Review 2011
These include:
• ‘Going through the motions’ – They’re ‘lifers’, turning up each day,
doing the minimum they have to do to keep their ‘job for life’, going
home again at knock off time and with absolutely no aspirations to
better themselves. They won’t rock the boat with innovative ideas!!
• ‘I know but I haven’ts’ – They actually know that some course of
action would assist, but they can’t get out of their own way to do it!!
• ‘Flat earthers’ – Their world is limited by the horizon line and they
are never going near the edge of their known universe in case they fall
off and get devoured by the demons which lurk beyond – they won’t
have any innovative ideas to offer!!
• ‘Philistines’ – The moment someone comes up with a potential
solution, they’re guaranteed to be the first to jump in with ‘that’ll
never work’!!!
• ‘Oblivious’ – ‘Disaster……..what disaster?’
• ‘Can-but-may-notters’ – When I was a child and used to ask my
father whether I could do something, he used to say ‘You can, but you
may not’!! These people can actually perceive of potential solutions to
the problem, but firmly believe that there is no way the organisation
would ever listen to them or allow them to implement their ideas.