It was March 11th, 2011 when an earthquake followed by a powerful tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on the coast of Japan. An accident classified as “catastrophic” on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, on par with Černobyl. One of the best ways to learn about crisis management is to study someone else’s crisis. The Fukushima disaster holds very valuable lessons.
It seems appropriate to write about it as tomorrow, August 24th, Japan will start releasing contaminated Fukushima water into the ocean following the greenlighting of the plan by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The U.N. nuclear watchdog stated the plan meets international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was “negligible”.
A few days ago I received a text message from a client suggesting I watch “The Days” a newly released mini-series based on the book by Ryûshô Kadota and available on Netflix, describing the accident and related events over a 7 days period.
I have not yet finished the 8-episode series. But for once I would like to steal the helm from Jonathan Hemus who regularly recommends podcasts, books, and movies to those interested in crisis management.
There is one word and one specific sequence in the first episodes that in my mind represents the essence of 21st-century crisis management. The word is “darkness”, and the sequence is the one that describes what happened in the Control Room of reactors 1 & 2 when the auxiliary generators stopped working following the tsunami.
It is perhaps no longer appropriate to speak about “navigating” crises. “Piloting” seems a more appropriate term. Piloting, however, as in the case of Fukushima, means doing so in total darkness: no gauges and instruments working, events not contemplated by emergency manuals, no idea of what is really happening “out there”, no data/information on which to base the crisis management decision-making process.
Let’s be clear, these are not new topics, crisis experts and scholars like Patrick Lagadec have been warning us about them for the past 20 years. But the first three episodes of “The Days” drive this point home very vividly: we need to be prepared to pilot through unknown universes, with no relevant cartography or GPS. Universes in which all of our points of reference vanish, where the technology we have become so dependent on collapses, and where experience from past events is of little help. In these crisis scenarios diffuse leadership, creativity, and competence are the only assets that make a real difference.
Even if not all documentary series are able to authentically capture the real drama unfolding, “The Days” – at least in the first episodes – does a good job. If you are interested in crisis management take time to watch it. I am sure more key lessons will emerge by the time the last episode ends. For now, you should perhaps think about how your organization is going to pilot through “darkness”. It is not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
Have you watched the series? What are your views and key takeaways? What are the valuable crisis management lessons from Fukushima?