Battle of the Sexes

This story has caused much laughter at the docleaf office. I am sure you will enjoy reading it too. But there is also a serious parallel to the humour here. How alligned are we with others' ways of thinking in the midst of a crisis? How often do we find that another party (client, customer, supplier) is "on another planet" when we are just trying to help?

Read the Dave Barry's story here.

Turning Crisis into Opportunity

In the current always-on, real-time and often invasive world of media coverage any company is only a slight faux pas away from crisis mode. It is not really a question of if your organization will encounter a crisis, but rather it is a matter of when and how often a crisis will occur. But here's the good news. According to Mike Wyatt, the success of your company in navigating the crisis, and the reputational fall-out that arises from it, sits largely in your own hands.

Read Mike's article here:

Volunteers - a help or a hindrance to crisis management?

When a major incident strikes, it is inevitable that some people will want to help out - both in the immediate rescue operation and the subsequent clean-up. But how well are the crisis plans geared up to cope with this potential resource? Do they utilise the skills, or the extra hands, that an army of volunteers bring? Or do they become a nuisance, getting in the way of the official response and creating an additional headache. An example of a response to a recent oil-spill in the San Francisco Bay Area is used to illustrate this dilemma.

For Ben Arnoldy's article, click here:

Save the Planet - Drive More?

Barely a day passes now without new research on what we should, or should not do, to reduce our carbon footprint and help prevent a global catastrophe for future generations. This article from the Times suggests some very contrary views, and challenges many of the commonly accepted "green" practices. It also highlights just how diverse and polarised opinions and sentiment are on this important issue.

Read Dominic Kennedy's post here:

Crisis Briefs

Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China, threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, state media reported Tuesday.

In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said. A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for just 25 fen (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.

"These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said. Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said. (AFP)

And finally... a crisis of memory - or worse?

A German man forgot his car after filling it up at a petrol station, police said on Friday. "He just forgot about it and walked off home," said a spokesman for police in the western city of Wuppertal.

After the car had sat blocking the pump for about an hour, a woman working at the petrol station became suspicious and alerted authorities. Officers contacted the 63-year-old from Remscheid, who came straight back to fetch the vehicle. He had paid to fill up the car before walking off. (Reuters)