complimentary thinklets – first quarter 2026
one size fits very few
I like what are known in America as baseball or trucker caps. They can be practical on many fronts, including that early morning home delivery before you’ve had a proper shower.
The cheaper versions of these caps are branded as “one size fits all.” In reality, there is a plastic or cloth connector that allows one to resize the cap to the shape of one’s head. So the branding is not 100% accurate as the owner must customize the fit.
“One size fits all” or standardization is something many organizations and people strive for. Simplicity comes with some tangible benefits in terms of costs (e.g. production, storage, training).
The problem with “one size fits all” is that it rarely does when it comes to crisis response, especially on the humanitarian side where we work with people who come as they are – unique individuals.
For example, when something happens and we open a reception center, family assistance center or similar, we have people complete standardized forms. Problem is no matter how hard we try, we cannot field a form that works for everyone.
How do we cover off …
– Language
– Layout (left to right or right to left)
– Low vision or blind individuals
– Completion readability
– Shareability
Technology might present possible programmable solutions, but do we have several hundred electronic tablets sitting around waiting for an event? Think Emirates’ 615-seat Airbus A380 at 100% load factor or a school with 3,000+ students in attendance.
Send everyone to a website? Good except that mobile phones are often lost in evacuations or other situations requiring unfamiliar movements. Or they are low on charge and people wish to reserve what remains for use in calling their loved ones.
Somewhere down the road, airports and other venues will likely have deployable kiosks that will use biometrics to prepopulate a form by having people simply walk past them as they enter an assistance facility. But those days are still a ways away.
For now, it is critical to ensure that assistance facilities are quickly staffed with sufficient numbers of empathetic people whose skills can address the challenges noted above.
When bad things happen, there is still no “one size fits all” replacement for people helping people.
We specialize in helping organizations review their plans for nuances that can derail a response. If we can help you, please contact us.
Be different. Be ready.