As I was doing some cleaning and organizing in my office over the holidays, I came across a note from earlier in 2023 that had three words written on it:

• Flexibility
• Ingenuity
• Resourcefulness

Admittedly I don’t recall where those words specifically came from (likely an article I read), but it’s clear to me that I wrote them down because I felt them to be important to me and what I do. I think these words apply to all of us working in emergency management, regardless of our specific areas of practice. Consider making these words your professional mantra for the new year.

Flexibility – I don’t know who to credit it to, but for as long as I’ve been in emergency management, I was told that the EM slogan was ‘semper gumby’ (always flexible). In every facet of emergency management, even those that are strictly regulated or standardized, we need to always allow for flexibility. We never know what we will face, be it in steady-state operations or during disaster, and we must be able to adapt to get the job done. Those who hold too rigid become obstructionists to progress.

Ingenuity – Emergency managers must think creatively and solve problems as a matter of course. This should be in every emergency management job description. The management of crisis (and the activities that exist before and after) doesn’t always take a predictable linear path. There are challenges at every turn that require us to OODA Loop our way through to success.

Resourcefulness – The key to success in emergency management is relationships. We are a practice with so many facets, yet often so few resources of our own. Our success regularly comes from knowing who to call. Yes, as a specialized practice we do a lot of work on our own, but the quality of that work is often reliant on the input of others because we serve entire communities and organizations and must have that input to ensure that our efforts address all perspectives. Having the right connections to get the information and other resources needed, not just during times of crisis, is incredibly important. I often tell my EM students that I’m less concerned with them having rote recall of information and more with them knowing where to find the information. That also applies in practice.

As we head into a new year, let’s do so with some deliberate thought on how to turn these three words into actions to benefit our areas of practice within emergency management. Let us be flexible enough to face whatever may come at us. Let’s exercise ingenuity every day to not only overcome unique problems we may face, but to also think about how we can improve what we already do. And let’s be resourceful, leveraging the knowledge and capabilities of our partners toward common goals.

Wishing you all the best in the new year.

-TR