Ten Frogs On A Log: Why Decision Alone Changes Nothing

Ten frogs are sitting on a log. One of them decides to jump off. How many frogs are left?

Preparing for an earthquake takes more than simply deciding to act. It takes action. Did you know these facts?

· Women act more than men do when it comes to preparedness for disaster.

· Most actions to prepare for an earthquake take place AFTER an earthquake occurs.

The sad fact is most people in business don’t take action primarily because of the following:

· They think that the probability of an earthquake impacting my business is so low, and there are so many other priorities, that mitigation is unnecessary.

· I’ve been through a major earthquake and things worked out just fine. So, the likelihood of an earthquake that impacts my business is so low that mitigation is unnecessary.

· The ROI for this project is too low. The cost is too high.

· Upper management, not to mention key personnel in the company, will not sign off on this work

None of these arguments make sense when you break them down. Let’s consider the facts:

· Multiple governmental agencies have published probability studies for most every latitude and longitude. The probability of an earthquake impacting operations of any business is higher than one thinks.

· Just like the stock market, past performance does not have any relation to future events.

· Benefit cost analysis of earthquake mitigation efforts show up to a six to one ROI. Not only that, but experiential data shows also that mitigation can often lead to insurance premium reductions, which in turn pay for the mitigation.

· Setting up a sample “mitigation area”, one where the organization can see the low cost and minimal impact of mitigation efforts can often seal the deal.

When ten frogs are sitting on a log and one decides to jump off, that leaves ten frogs on the log. None of them jumped. Act. Overcome objections and take steps to get earthquake ready today.