Pertinent Perils

Arctic Chill in the Northeast Today!

January 5th, 2016

Special Needs in the Winter

Last week, operators of New England’s ski resorts were devising creative ways to draw in customers during unusually balmy weather. Mountains lacking snow were transformed into fun trails for kids to descend by large rolling tires; it isn’t skiing, but it brings in some revenue. Today, it feels like winter is finally here with the National Weather Service warning of bitter cold wind chills of 15 below zero. If you are in the area, and you must go outdoors even for a short time, be sure to dress in layers of loose fitting clothing.

And give some thought to the special needs of the animals in your care at this time. If you have a pet-friendly office, as I do, consider that the paws of cats and dogs are sensitive to the salt used on snowy roads. I protect Coco’s paws with a thin layer of petroleum jelly before taking her for short walks in the snow season; Henry doesn’t seem to be sensitive at all. I also make sure to frequently replace the bird fountain with water before it can freeze over, so the birds have something to drink. I also leave suet for them as it may be more difficult for them to find food. They don’t all migrate to the south at this time of year.

It seems a bit jarring to go from one weather extreme to the other. Last weekend, people in my neighborhood were wearing shorts and T-shirts. Today, everyone has wool coats, hats and mittens. It seems volatile weather patterns are becoming the “new normal”.

Tags: Arctic Chill
Posted in Winter Storm | No Comments »

Better Project Management to Minimize Risk

January 4th, 2016

In Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses, I wrote of the insights gleaned from examining the patterns of human error that impact your business. If your management style is to wait until the last minute to complete work and create needless stress, human errors will increase. Changing your management practices to allow for adequate preparation and response times will reduce the frequency of human errors – and improve your overall mental health! Today I learned the corollary to that piece of advice when I had difficulty accessing an online form for the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). CCRI’s website and applications were accessible only to those using terminals on campus. I am working with a non-profit organization that sought to apply to participate in CCRI’s Annual Day of Service in which students volunteer to perform a day of work for local charities. The deadline for application is January 6. Had I waited until tomorrow or the day after, my stress levels would have been rising with each hour that I was unable to complete the online application. Fortunately service was restored by the close of business and we submitted our materials two days in advance. But the next time, I will pencil the dates in my calendar for one week in advance of the actual deadlines.

Tags: Minor Disaster
Posted in Communications, Everyday Disaster, IT Systems | No Comments »

Book of the Week: Katrina, After the Flood

January 3rd, 2016

Catching Up Ten Years Later

One of my favorite articles from Inc. magazine explored the decline of a Florida community ten years after it had been struck by Hurricane Andrew. As businesses lost revenues and had uninsured losses, they had to close, laying off employees, who no longer had discretionary income to spend at local businesses which sustained a loss of revenue….it was a vicious cycle and a number of residents were forced to relocate in search of jobs and other opportunities. I particularly appreciated the article, because typically disasters command attention when vivid images of physical damage can be broadcast. But when the news cycle has moved on to other stories, the people impacted by the disaster are left to rebuild without the sense of urgency conveyed by the initial media coverage. I know from my own experience of 9-11 that it is a long, long time before things return to normal – if they ever do. So I had Katrina, After the Flood on my list for some time and finally got around to reading it.

Gary Rivlin, a staff reporter for the New York Times, first went to New Orleans to assess the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina. He observed that 80 per cent of the houses in the city had been flooded, schools and businesses were ruined and the city’s water and sewer system were unusable. In this book, he traces what happens in the aftermath of a major disaster. Boarded-up businesses, some 21,0000 of the 22,000 businesses registered in New Orleans, were still shuttered six months after the storm. Six weeks after the storm, New Orleans laid off half of the municipal workforce. With so many formerly economically productive businesses and workers unable to contribute to the tax base, the community could not possibly finance its own recovery. What we learn is that life doesn’t go back to “normal”; people re-build or they move on, but the community is permanently changed. It is a gripping read; I highly recommend it.

Tags: Book, Katrina
Posted in Book, Hurricanes, New Orleans | No Comments »

Setting the 2016 Business Goals

January 1st, 2016

Fresh Start

It is January 1 when motivation is high to comply with the ambitious set of New Year’s resolutions. This year, I decided not to make any resolutions after watching a Ted talk by a psychologist on the topic of motivation. He argues that resolutions are counter-productive and suggests setting goals instead. The trouble with resolutions, he argues, is that the first time you break the resolution (which is inevitable, given how hard it is to change established behaviors), you lose your commitment as you have already failed. But setting a goal allows for progress, even with the occasional slip-up. So I set one business goal and one personal goal and, even allowing for the occasional failing, I look forward to making progress over the next 365 days and being in an even better place next year – with a stronger, more resilient business for having achieved my New Year’s goals.

Tags: Setting Goals
Posted in Entrepreneurship | No Comments »

New Year’s Eve is Approaching

December 31st, 2015

NYC Times Square During the Day

When I lived in Manhattan, December 31 was a day that required advance planning. The police and security teams begin very early in the day to put up barriers for crowd control and, particularly since 9-11, checkpoints to examine bags and people entering the area to verify that they are coming to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a peaceful way. I always made it a point to be out of mid-town Manhattan no later than noon. Even during the daylight hours, pedestrian traffic in the Times Square area moves very slowly. Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Times Square is an activity perhaps best left for tourists.

But I also made it a point while living in Manhattan to explore a new neighborhood or cultural attraction each weekend. Too often, people spend years in New York and never have the fun of visiting, for example, the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or exploring the extraordinary ethnic and cultural diversity of communities throughout Brooklyn or Queens. So this year, I am going to do something different. I wish a peaceful New Year’s Eve celebration for everyone and of course, with festivities planned it is always best to send employees home early, if possible, to ensure their safety.

Tags: Times Square New Year's Eve
Posted in New York | No Comments »

Protect Your Eye-Q

December 30th, 2015

Protecting an Important Asset

Changing work patterns demands extra care to protect the health of our eyes. More than 90 per cent of adults spend a minimum of two hours a day using a digital device. That figure is even higher for younger workers; 37 per cent of Millennials spend at least nine hours a day looking at screens of their smart phones and tablets. The American Academy of Ophthalmology suggests certain measures to protect the health of your eyes from the risks of increased use of digital screens:

Working in front of a digital screen tends to reduce by one-half the frequency of eye blinking, which can result in dry and even burning eyes. To keep your eyes blinking at a normal rate, follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes focus your gaze on an object at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Place your computer monitor at least an arm’s length away from your eyes and place an anti-glare film over the screen.
Enlarge the font size of the text you read on your tablet and smart phone to minimize eye strain.
Schedule your annual eye exam to check the health of your eyes and detect any problems in a timely manner for proactive diagnosis and treatment.

Be sure to share this information with your employees who work in front of a computer or with smart phones or tablets. It is easy to lose track of the time in front of the computer monitor. Fortunately, it is also easy to take basic measures to protect our vision and the health of our eyes.

Tags: Eye Health
Posted in Health | No Comments »