Nimrod

The past few days have seen some remarkable feats take place on the Isle of Man. It’s a stark reminder that sometimes we need an emergency in our lives to remind ourselves of just how good we really can be. It steels us, focuses us and catalyses us.

In 1982, the United Kingdom faced just such an emergency. The British Crown Dependency of the Falkland Islands were invaded by Argentinian forces. The territory had long been disputed by Argentina, who even today refer to them as The Malvinas.  The Country was led by the indomitable Margaret Thatcher, and within weeks, a Task Force was heading south with the mission of retaking the Islands.

Part of the challenge was providing effective air support to maritime operations. The RAF had an excellent platform in the guise of the Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft. The only issue was that its range was limited due to the lack of an air to air refuelling capability. In just eighteen days the airframes were rigged to be able to receive fuel in flight. Although the solution was somewhat Heath-Robinson, its widely accepted that if the requirement had been made in peace time, it would have taken something like two years to achieve.

We are now seeing a real ‘Nimrod Moment’, here on the Isle of Man. We, like everyone else, are in the grip of Corona Virus. Everywhere is shut, and to top it all off, we are now locked down to visitors from outside the Island for 21 days. The first couple of weeks were difficult. Leaders who had never envisaged ‘managing an emergency’ being a line on their CV have been thrown into the fray. Early decision making was slow, and opportunities to get ahead of the curve were missed daily. It was a textbook play of the four stages of team building; Form, Storm, Norm – Perform! We are through to stage four now, and its inspiring to see the confidence of our local politicians on their feet at briefings. In just a few days, thousands of public servants have been set up for home working. Decisions to use private aircraft to bring in vital supplies have been rapidly taken. New support numbers to inform the public have been brought online. The Nimrod refuelling probe story is being reprised every single day.

Organisations will be similarly challenged. Its now time to cast aside conventional process, and look for methodology which promotes agility, free thought and problem solving. This is essential for navigating the here and now, but will be equally as important in planning for the ‘new normal’ which will be ahead of us on the other side of this unprecedented event.

If I can help, I will.

Derek Flint Cert. Ed., MCIPR