The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

Today is Earth Day and we are supposed to focus on how we can respect the environment, conserve and be greener in our practices and businesses.  I think the ash cloud with the volcano in Iceland serves to deliver us another message on Earth Day that we should also respect.

There are some things in life you can control and other things you can’t.  What “Mother Nature” is going to deliver to us is not one of them.  Often we forget that lesson only to be reminded when the levees break in New Orleans or the landscape gets flattened in the Midwest after another round of tornadoes or it floods in Atlanta.   There are thousands of volcanoes around the world and they explode from time to time.  What makes the Icelandic volcano different is that it erupted through an ice cap and steamed a significant amount of ash in the air that sailed along the jet stream and covered Europe.

95,000 air flights were cancelled this week and some of the airlines lamenting the fact that they were losing $200 million dollars daily were beginning to publicly regret their decision to ground flights stating that maybe things weren’t that bad.  When ash gets into an engine, it solidifies causing the engine to seize up and quit until you descend quickly hoping that the air will clear them out.  Do you really want to bet your life on the fact that it’s not really that bad and you’re OK to fly anywhere close to that cloud?

As business owners, we should understand that in our careers we’re going to get grounded from time to time.  It could be the swine flu or a terrorist threat or the variety of curve balls that Mother Nature can throw our way.  But, it’s inevitable it’s going to happen sooner or later.  The good news is that technology has given us many ways to forge ahead, even if we can’t get off the ground.

Here’s my advice.  Have a contingency plan if your offices must close or your people get stranded on the ground.  Consider converting your key business application to web-enabled services that can be accessed over the Internet.  Think about the variety of portable computing devices from the iPhone to the iPad to the laptop that can keep your people connected.   Create an action plan that your people understand so that they know who to contact and what to do if the worst happens.

Naturally, we are going to suggest that you have your people signed up and ready with conferencing accounts.  Accounts are free until you use them and can be invaluable to allow businesses to continue to hold meetings, sales calls and trainings, even when it has to be done from an airport or in a hotel.  For those of you stuck in Europe, remember that if you use Copper Conferencing, there are toll-free numbers throughout Europe, and the rest of the world for that matter, to keep you connected to your people and your customers.

There are a lot of things that we might be able to control, but Mother Nature has sent us a reminder that she’s not one of them.  Those 95,000 flights and tens of thousands of people hanging out in airports are a stark reminder.  Happy Earth Day!

Carolyn Bradfield is the CEO of Copper Conferencing, a provider of Earth-friendly communication tools – audio and web conferencing.  Copper also provides wrap-around services including online account, invoice and recording management. You can try Copper’s great web and audio conferencing services — FREE. Just sign up now.