(Image courtesy of CBS News)
The Defining Moments series looks back at the biggest events of 2010 to see what we can learn from them here at P&P, to work better in our calling, in 2011 and beyond.
By DJ Edgerton (@wiltonbound)
So far weve moved from the earthquake-ravaged streets of Haiti to the quiet Florida streets of Tiger Woods gated community. Where do we go to look back at what we learned from March 2010?
We go to a little hill called Effa… Eyha….Well. Lets let him pronounce it. Eyjafjallajɬ∂kull: the volcano nobody could pronounce, that brought the world to a halt.
Its 2010 eruption began on March 20, 2010 and it didnt stop until late May. In that time, airlines lost nearly $2 billion as almost a third of all aviation around the world was affected. The European economy lost that much in just the first six days.
For weeks, the phrase “Iceland volcano became shorthand for millions of people stuck away from home, on extended vacation, prevented from going to business plans or weddings or long-planned holidays: it was to blame for utter chaos that descended upon travel agencies, conferences, airports…
And heres what it taught us: You may not be as global as you think you are.
You might have colleagues all over the world; you might do web conferences twice a week; you might have your global telecon number pre-programmed into your cell phone and your passport in your pack pocket.
But I bet you need to be somewhere in person tomorrow. I bet youve had to sign for something in person in the last week or two. And most of all, I bet youd miss not going home if you were unexpectedly kept away for a week.
Moses might not have climbed up Eyjafjallajɬ∂kull, but heres a new Volcano-Era set of Commandments that came down the mountain. Lets remember them in 2011.
1. Thou shalt not take thy jet-setting for granted.
2. Thou shalt not assume everyone else is as wired as thou art.
3. Thou shalt not forget to consider what thou wouldst do if thou were grounded.
4. Thou shalt not forget to consider what thou wouldst do if thou were stranded.
5. Thou shalt not assume thy wi-fi will never drop.
6. Thou shalt not assume the cloud will always be accessible.