Expect the unexpected: Fire alarm at MindLeaders

So there I am today, working diligently and getting ready to attend a webinar, when the fire alarm goes off.

At MindLeaders, we used to work in a building where the fire alarm would go off every week or so for no good reason, so we're conditioned to respond to such an event in one way only: we all mill around in the hallways and ask each other "You think that's for real? Hmmm."

It took an announcement from our receptionist, Ruthie, telling everybody to get out, for us to actually evacuate.

Thank goodness the weather was mild enough today that it was no heavy burden for us to make jokes in the parking lot until the impressive number of firefighters (3 trucks!) could declare the building all clear. Rumor is that someone burned up a toaster oven in the offices above ours.

Only harm from the event: I missed my webinar. Oh, well. But it got me thinking about a couple of things:

• I'm a big believer that trainers are uniquely suited to helping build and communicate emergency procedures for your company. In the case of MindLeaders, today's lesson is that we ought to add a procedure that Ruthie will not only announce when a fire drill is expected, she will also announce when a fire alarm is unexpected.
  
  Stay on the lookout for ways that you can help your company be prepared. It's good karma that comes back to you manyfold: you're not just keeping people safe, you're proving the value of the training group and building valuable networks with Human Resources and other highly-connected teams in your organization.

• The unexpected make people sit up and take notice. It's one of the core principles in the book Made to Stick, which I highly recommend for trainers and presenters. A change in the routine makes us look around with new eyes.
  
  I'm not suggesting pulling any fire alarms in your next training session, but as I see in our courses every day, changing things up is the way to keep people's attention.

May your day be free of fires, but full of unexpected lessons!

Comments

[Bonnie Segel]

This post reminds me about the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".Do you think a clever trainer did this on purpose?

This is a great reason to get off auto-pilot and be in-the-moment!