The Reactive Trap

Just this past week I was speaking to a long-time contact of mine who works in a region that’s now facing heightened risks and emerging threats due to geopolitical conflicts. 

‘Now everyone sees the dangers of taking a “let’s just wait and see” approach to emergency preparedness,’ he told me. ‘Fortunately, for us, we’ve gotten our act together before it’s too late.’ He paused. ‘But some have not been so lucky.’ 

As we talked more, I learned how political instabilities can exacerbate pre-existing risks to workforce safety, supply chains, infrastructure, the environment and cybersecurity. When any incident strikes, the situation can quickly escalate, often unexpectedly: resulting in polycrisis. 

And that got me thinking about how a reactive approach to emergency preparedness is a trap–no matter what the context. Too often, I see organizations operating under an “it won't happen to us” mentality until it does. They wait for a direct hit, a near-miss, or a mandate from their insurance provider before they invest in the tools and training they’ve needed all along. 

But by then, it’s too late. When you’re in the middle of a crisis, the last thing you want to be doing is figuring out your response plan for the first time.

Act Now: Build Proactive Resilience

True preparedness is about building a culture of readiness to manage a critical event the very moment it strikes. It's a fundamental business strategy that protects your people, your operations, and your bottom line. 

A proactive approach demands change. And that change begins with fresh conversations, better collaboration and rigorous practice–so that emergency preparedness becomes second nature.

Working with RAYVN’s customers, I’ve learned that organizations that successfully deal with unexpected incidents and compounding crises do three things well. And I want to pass on these insights to you: 

• Practice with Purpose: Run drills and simulations that build confidence and familiarity with your plans to reduce response time and costly errors when a real event occurs.
• Centralize Communication: Ensure that when an event occurs, you can instantly connect with the right people: save precious time and prevent miscommunication to deliver an effective real-time response.
• Log and Learn: Automatically document every action for post-incident analysis to learn and improve continuously–this strengthens your resilience over time.

By adopting these practices, any organization can cultivate a culture of readiness. And that’s a game-changer: you’re not waiting for the wake-up call because you’re already awake and ready.

Here’s my advice. Don't wait until an incident forces your hand. A crisis—whether it's a geopolitical event, a fire in a warehouse, a serious accident, or a supply chain collapse—should not be the primary motivator for getting your house in order. 

The time to prepare is now, when you have the space to be thoughtful, strategic, and thorough. Build your resilience today, so you can face tomorrow with confidence when it counts.