(This article was originally published on www.svprojectmanagement.com)
This is the final post in my series exploring post-quake Japan. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Earthquake
Japan Tragedy – Impossible Becomes Possible by Kimberly Wiefling (Wiefling Consulting)
(This article was originally published on www.svprojectmanagement.com)
Here’s another article in this series where I squeeze meaning out of seemingly purposeless tragedy. Continue reading
Japan Tragedy – Selflessness by Kimberly Wiefling (Wiefling Consulting)
(This article was originally published on www.svprojectmanagement.com)
In my continuing quest to make meaning out of tragedy, here’s another in the series. Continue reading
Japan Tragedy – Symbolic Acts by Kimberly Wiefling (Wiefling Consulting)
(This article was originally published on www.svprojectmanagement.com)
In my quest to make sense of the recent tragedy in Japan I’m writing about my experiences from Tokyo, where I’ve been working for the past 2 weeks. Continue reading
Leadership Lessons from a Heart-wrenching Tragedy
Originally published on ProjectConnections.com April 2011.
Pardon me if I’m not my normally humorous self. I’m obsessing on disaster these days after the recent quake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant tragedies in Japan. While there have been plenty of tragedies in the past that could have consumed my emotional bandwidth (see the complete list on Wikipedia if you don’t already feel like self-medicating with tequila), this is much more personal. Just about every month for the last five years I’ve flown to Japan to work for a couple of weeks. From my home in the Silicon Valley, Japan seemed a long way off. Until now, that is.
On March 11 at 4:00 AM the iPhone on my bed table rang. It was my dad calling from my parents’ home in Florida. “Get up! Your friends are in trouble,” he said. I don’t know what he thought I could do about a natural disaster occurring over 5,000 miles away, but that’s my dad—no matter how dire the circumstances, he always thinks there’s something a person can do to make a positive difference.Continue reading
Tokyo Really Does Rock
This morning started off just about like any other day – dreams of transforming the planet, concerns about my own inadequacies in that department, and thinking about what I might have for breakfast. But soon my day took a turn for the more unusual . . . I had quite a scare this morning as I was soaking in the tub when the 7.4 earthquake began. There I was, surrounded by water, really enjoying the rocking motion of the . . . tub! Finally it dawned on me that the waves were kind of big for a bathtub. Then I noticed that my necklace, hanging from the hook on the door, was swinging rhythmically in tune with the waves.
Funny how the mind works during a crisis – I jumped up, asking myself aloud “What should I do?” repeatedly. Then I did what every fashion conscious gal would do . . . washed my hair, brushed my teeth, got dressed and then put on my lipstick. As I headed downstairs to have breakfast (and to see if anyone else was as panicked as I am) I decided I had better take the stairs in case the elevators weren’t working. The door to the stairs were locked! Now a whole new level of panic began to set in as I realize that the hotel I have been staying in hundreds of times in the past 2 years has locked my emergency escape route, the location of which I had carefully made note of every visit. There was elevator music playing in the hallway, so I thought, “what the heck!”, I’ll use the elevator. Continue reading