Project White Horse Forum

As the day closed on September 11 2001, we began the process of “doing what we know”- we had been attacked – strangely suprising to some in other lands, Americans strike back hard when treaded upon – so we went to war in the way we know how.  The events of September 11, 2001 were of such magnitude, […]

Boundary Condition #4 (3) The Observe Orient Decide Act decision making process,  or as it is commonly known, OODA Loop, was evolved over time by John Boyd in search of improvements in capability in the highly competitive environment of war. Over time many have come to see the worth of the OODA process as instructive in any […]

Boundary Condition #1 (4) UPDATE 16 March: See the comments below from PWH’s contributors and advisors One significant element of an unconventional crisis as compared to other large catastrophes is the complex maps of actors – Catastrophic crises systematically involve an enormous variety of stakeholders, on an international scale. Pictures from Japan: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/03/world/hires.japan.quake/index.html?hpt=T1 Preparation? Readiness? […]

Boundary Condition #2 (3) A work in progress: With this post we conclude the second round of discussion on our 2011 boundary conditions.  Before reading Part 2, a few thoughts: Of no surprise should be the issue of training as a key to operating successfully in unstable or high stress, high impact situations.  But what […]

Boundary Condition #1 (3) The previous post (2), presented the parameters defining an unconventional crisis as developed by Dr. Erwan Lagadec.  Here in the following table and discussion we  provide comparison of the characteristics that differentiate decision making, leadership and operational response in relation to both routine emergencies and conventional disasters and to unconventional /hyper complex catastrophic […]

Boundary Condition #1 (2)           “Conventional crises rarely require high levels of inbuilt resiliency from our systems. This is because such events tend to affect circumscribed “ground zeros,” and therefore can be tackled by bringing to bear the “normal” assets and strategies of the unscathed outside on the impacted area.  On the other hand, catastrophic […]

Boundary Conditions for 2011 Ventura County Fire Department, Battalion Chief Ranger Dorn commenting on Deepwater Horizon  As a result of working around emergency plans and training on Threat, Risk and Vulnerability Assessments around the country and having responded to many significant events, I believe most plans for handling emergencies are based on assumptions and guesses […]

Boundary Condition #1 (1) The idea of Intersectional ideas – those resulting from combining concepts from multiple fields or areas of specialization gained through education and experience – has been previously introduced with it’s own PWH section. This is the first of several year ending posts intended to set the stage for intersectional discussions for […]

If one is to discuss leadership, what it requires to “decide and act” in severe crisis, the journey  should start here. A real love for the hard battle, knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when the best is required. Competiveness: John R Wooden  More reading about Coach Wooden and his “pyramid of […]