Technology is great isn’t it? The internet. Cellular phones. Even electricity itself. All good. It allows us to work fast and move around without the tether of cords. Everything works perfectly.
Until it doesn’t.
On October 16 + 17, a cyclone bomb hit the great Boston area and, in particular, the South Shore where I live. 60 mph winds were predicted.
We got 90.
You know what came next: Downed trees and power lines. Canceled schools and flights. Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!*
Suddenly, it’s as if Ayn Rand was writing the script for 500,000 people, myself included. As my amazing wife put it this morning, everything took 20 times longer and was 20 times more frustrating. No power. No internet. Cell service was shaky, making it impossible to email or even text.
I thought I was prepared. I work from the cloud. I work from the road. I had things backed up. I could handle this inconvenience. Yippeeeeeeee!
Or not.
Are you ready for the blackout? Sure, we can last a few hours, but what if it continues for a day. Or two?
Truth is, you need a Sales Armageddon Plan. Are you sure you can access files on the cloud? I couldn’t. I looked and searched but they weren’t there. I was forced to recreate, wing it, or go without. Flights I was sure I had booked weren’t showing up on my account and since I hadn’t written them down, I was in a bit of a panic.
Imagine this for a moment: You’ve been hacked and shut out of everything (a not unlikely scenario, as some print companies, cities, and hospitals are finding out). You are being held for ransom. What would you do?
You might think this is an extreme scenario, but we are not immune to bad weather or bad people. One night without electricity is downright romantic, but more than that is frustrating and potentially terrifying.
In addition to batteries and fresh water, have a printed back up list of your contacts. Assuming the only thing that works is your smartphone, try finding stored files before you need to. And, speaking of batteries, make certain you have a fully charged laptop plus some sort of portable charger.
October 17 was a frustrating day and one that I hope was an anomaly but must prepare for it to repeat. You, too. Do it now, before the lights go out.
*Name the movie I quoted
