Sunday Story: Disruption Prep for Leaders Part 3

Welcome back to Sunday Story! We're writing this Sunday Story from just outside Astoria, Oregon, a few hundred feet away from the Pacific Ocean on a chilly below zero Saturday evening - and yes, we're doing this trip with the basics that we carry in a single bag (each). That's what this particular series is all about: how leaders can prepare to rise to the challenge of leading through a disruption, and it doesn't matter if the disruption is a flight delay causing you to be stuck in an airport, spilling a coffee all over yourself before the big meeting, a choice to go camping in the winter following a professional conference in Seattle, or a major weather event or natural disaster that causes you to be disconnected from your routine for a few days or longer. Before we jump in - we're running a contest! Enter here for a FREE 1-hour PD session for you and your colleagues on leadership through disruption. Craig is an award-winning presenter, so enter this contest for your chance to see why! Also, we just finished the NWACUHO conference in Seattle, where we were thrilled to support the ACUHO-I Foundation with a donation of our Restorative Behaviour Management for Leaders course. This course teaches you how to navigate the most common disruption there is: interpersonal conflict. Check out the Authentik Academy to learn more.

In Part 1, we covered the concept of Cognitive Bandwidth - essentially, everyone is only able to focus on so many things at one time. The luxuries of modern society mean that we don't need to spend much time thinking about food, water, and shelter on a day to day basis, because our routines usually account for those needs and we can do them on autopilot. That allows leaders to focus on what they need to do for their people instead. But in a disruption, the usual systems and routines are interfered with, and that means your cognitive bandwidth has to go towards securing these basic needs. In Part 2, we made the point that a single bag of essentials can cover those basic needs for an hour, a day, or longer, allowing you to thrive. This week, we're going into greater detail on what exactly to put in your bag using the survival maxim of the Rule of Threes.

After a wonderful few days at the NWACUHO conference, we headed into the Willamette National Forest for some winter camping - and everything I needed fit into one bag, from conference to camp site!

The Rule of Threes

This is an old survival maxim but it's incredibly handy to remember, because not only does it help you prioritize your needs in an emergency, it can also serve as a guide to what you should put into your bag "just in case".

Put simply, the rule of threes is like this:

1) 3 minutes without air.

2) 3 hours without shelter.

3) 3 days without water.

4) 3 weeks without food

In the following sections, we'll break down what this means and some suggested equipment to toss into your 35-ish litre pack to ensure you've got plenty of cognitive bandwidth free to lead your people through disruption.

3 Minutes Without Air

This seems pretty obvious - hold your breath and set a timer, and I can guarantee you won't last even close to three minutes. Of course there are free divers who can go a lot longer, but we're going to assume you are reading this paragraph and not gloating, so that's probably not you.

This one is pretty contextual, so let's talk about it from one of the most common hazards you can face: Fire. Obviously, in the event of a fire in your building, you aren't going to be reaching for your emergency bag - you've only got three minutes, you've got to get the heck out of there! But let's take a look at a less immediate disruption, one that residents of California, Alberta, British Columbia, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and more are all too familiar with: Wildfires. Sometimes, the smoke can be so thick, you feel like you cannot breath and, as a result, you may feel tired or otherwise out of sorts. Smog can have the same effect for our readers in major urban centres, especially those without controls on industrial activity.

Finally, let's consider another hazard that we all know far too well: Viruses. A virus can spread easily, but more than the risk of the bug itself is the ability to navigate the disruption that a virus can cause. Remember, there was a time when you wouldn't be allowed in a grocery store without the proper personal protective equipment.

There's plenty of misinformation out there about the efficacy of masks, but the fact is: They work. And they work really well, if you get the right one - something that can filter out the particulates of smog or a wildfire, and provide protection against an airborne virus is the same tool. A mask with at least an N-95 or P-95 rating will work great, ideally one that filters on inhale and exhale.

3 Hours Without Shelter

This may be a bit of a surprise - after all, we all regularly spend more than 3 hours outside at any given time, and we don't suddenly drop dead, right? A solid day on the ski slopes or a day hiking on our favourite trail is a lot more than 3 hours, so what's the deal with this part?

Try to do the above naked and let us know how you get on. If you manage to avoid arrest for indecent exposure, you'll know exactly what we mean by shelter - unless you live near the equator, you need to wear clothes every day to manage the environment you live in.

In more extreme hot or cold temperatures, you need to wear different and more specific clothing - for instance, picture a typical Edmontonian in a down parka to keep warm, or a Bedouin in Jordan with flowing robes to keep cool and out of direct sunlight.

And don't forget your everyday clothing - shirt, pants, and underwear. Having spare shelter with you is essential - imagine the example in the introduction, where you've just spilled a cup of coffee all over yourself right before a big presentation! Being able to grab a clean shirt and a spare pair of pants might be the difference between closing the deal with the client or not; on a more significant disruption it can mean the difference between being comfortable with clean clothes every day, or having to wear the same single bit of clothing you happened to put on the morning of disruption day.

Here's what we recommend: Pack 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear, 3 casual shirts, and 1 pair of pants. With this combination you can basically go indefinitely - wear one, wash one, and one spare. "Wash" may be something you have to adjust - in a major disruption, this might mean giving your clothing a scrub in the sink of whatever place you are staying, but it works, and it's far better than not having anything spare. And remember, odds are this won't be the only clothing you have - you'll be wearing one full outfit, bringing your total to 4 socks, 4 underwear, and extra shirts too. For most disruptions, that's enough to get back to a steady state.

In terms of what to get, we strongly suggest going shopping at a major outdoor retailer - think MEC, REI, Atmosphere, Cabela's, etc.. Our reason for suggesting this is simple: these clothes are designed to be worn in equipment-limited environments like camping. They tend to dry fast, are easy to wash, and are reasonably durable. And, it's 2025 - so you won't look like you are the only one in the meeting ready to hit the Appalachian Trail. This clothing can be quite appropriate for a business casual setting, and even in the biggest disruption, business casual is good enough. In the minor disruptions, business casual and the truth about spilling that coffee - we don't call ourselves Authentik for nothing and have been in this exact situation - is probably preferable to the alternative of wearing the stained clothes or going naked. But hey, you do you - you'll know your audience best and if au natural is how you wanna show up, don't let this article stop you. It's a blog, not a cop. Having this gear in your bag means you've got options.

One thing we will say is this: Avoid cotton at all costs for your backup clothes. Cotton is great for a lot of things, but when it's wet, "Cotton Kills" - that's a common refrain from park rangers around the world who have had to rescue underprepared hikers in blue jeans and a t-shirt; once the cotton gets wet, it's very good at wicking heat away from your body and before you know it, hypothermia can hit you even on a nice summer day (or at the very least, you'll be cold and miserable, which you don't want).

There's one more thing to consider - insulation and waterproofing. This very much depends on your climate, but a warm down coat can pack down awfully small and will do the job of a sweater or a jacket in dry environments. You'll want something waterproof to keep you and your stuff dry though, and that can be a $600 Gore-Tex jacket or a $0.50 cent garbage bag. The point here is to have multiple layered items rather than one big one - one to keep you warm, and one to keep you dry - so you can reach for the right layer if you need it. This might seem like overkill for an office, and 99% of the time it will be, but remember a major disruption might have you forced to leave that shelter and go elsewhere, and you'll be glad for the layers if this happens. And, we're all aware that HVAC efficacy is a mystery greater than the secrets of the sphinx - for some reason, offices, hotels, and more can be randomly freezing, so the extra insulation is handy to have even day to day.

Three Days Without Water

This one is the most obvious one - we all know we can't live without water. The solution here is simple - have a full water bottle in your bag. Even 1 litre of water can give you an extra day or two, and that might be enough for your preferences. We do recommend a stainless steel, single walled water bottle (we've got some of these ordered and will be raffling them off - sign up for our mailing list if you haven't yet for your chance to win!). The reason for this is that the most reliable way to clean water of any bugs or viruses is by boiling it, and a single-walled stainless steel water bottle can boil water over a candle eventually, ensuring you've got clean water ready to go.

If you want to really emergency-proof yourself, go a step further and bring along a water filter. LifeStraw and the Sawyer Mini are both around $20, last for a really long time, and take up almost no room in a bag. We always have at least one. Water is really, really important, and drinking bad water that makes you sick is sometimes worse than not drinking water at all.

And lest you think this is a bit extreme, here's a story: In 2019, I had to travel a distance due to a work-related disruption. After a long day of travel, I finally found myself checking into a hotel in a medium sized Ontario city. Unfortunately, due to a recent storm, the entire area had a boil water advisory, and the tap water was undrinkable. The hotel's solution was a single 500ml bottle of water given at check in. My solution was to drink all the water I needed or wanted with my filter - which was good enough for bacteria and viruses - and I was fine. This can happen anywhere, but if your leadership takes you internationally, it's an even better idea to be able to provide water for yourself.

That takes care of air, shelter, and water - you've probably not even got your backpack 1/2 full, and you are completely set for a 3 week disruption. Not bad! But let's keep going.

3 Weeks Without Food

This one is very much a survival maxim - after 3 weeks without eating, you'll have a bad time as your body really does need nutrients to keep on going. However, I guarantee you that the impact of no food will be felt FAR before the three week mark, so pretend you are a parent with a toddler: Pack snacks.

Low blood sugar is the source of incredible conflict - folks get hangry, and hangry people are not good leaders. Particularly hangry people are actually really bad decision makers and may find themselves in a tough spot of their own doing.

You can pack a few high-calorie emergency rations - they are compact and affordable - but throwing in some shelf-stable snack foods is a good idea. Granola bars, fruit leather, or other small compact snacks can be a major blood sugar pick me up. And remember, this isn't just for major emergencies. Maybe you had to skip lunch because that meeting ran late, and you can feel you are running on empty - grab your snack! It can make a bad day into a good one really fast, and it's well worth it.

Just remember to re-pack them.

And if you do have a toddler, even if you haven't eaten your own snacks, check 'em regularly. Fruit leather is good at all ages.

Writing this week's Sunday Story - we don't call ourselves Authentik for nothing!

Conclusion

There you have it - with just a few items that align with the Rule of Threes, you can ensure your bag of tricks is equipped to last you through even the most significant disruptions. And, more likely, you'll be in a position to be prepared when the everyday disruption strikes - a skipped lunch, a temporary boil water advisory, or the coffee spilled on your dress shirt before the big presentation.

Next week, we'll be sharing some final additions to your bag of tricks that will take you from having the basics to being ready for anything. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next Sunday!