The Hindu Business Line : Fire fighting

Recently, I participated in a fire drill conducted at our apartment complex. As seems to be the general trend when it comes to being prepared to face a potential danger, the attendance was poor. The instructor from the company that had sold the equipment was not deterred and did his best to enthuse people into appreciating the dangers of potential fires and ways to fight them.

He told us about the simple precautions that one needs to take to avoid fires — in themselves these were eye openers. This included elementary advice about not storing too much junk. He talked knowledgeably about Type ‘A’ fires that are started when things like wood, paper and so on catch fire; and Types ‘B’ and ‘E’ which occur when electrical faults, oil and so on are the triggers. He then showed us how to put out fires using specific types of extinguishers. We went back suitably chastened at our lack of knowledge and preparedness and with a resolve to be better at it in the future.

Anticipate flash points

When we examine organisations, a distinct parallel comes to mind. Most organisational fires are triggered from within and by a combination of combustible situations and behaviour. There is a tendency to create flash points through applying either wrong solutions or, many a time, offering no solutions at all in the pious hope that like the famous Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, the issues will just fade away! Once the flash point is reached, things start happening and troubles start cascading. If the issue is serious enough, a conflagration is set in motion and then, inevitably, the fire brigade has to be called in. The managerial fire fighters charge in and pour enormous quantities of the equivalent of foam and chemicals on the fire. At the end of the day, the fire may be put out, but what remains is most often a soggy mess of a situation. The managerial fire fighters will withdraw, but the smouldering embers stand ready to erupt again.

The moot point in all this is to ask if the fire was indeed inevitable; could it not have been anticipated and prevented? To take a leaf from the fire instructor’s book, perhaps there were too many issues that had got accumulated (junk) over a period of time without the senior executives being aware of it. This, in effect, means a lack of smoke sensors being in place — a poor reflection on the senior managerial capabilities.

Ideally, the job of the senior management is to make sure that the fires do not start, and if they do, they must be few and far between. Once the fire starts, it becomes important to assess what type of fire it is. There must be the corporate equivalent of a classification of fires that are pre-identified and the necessary fire fighting response should be triggered. Most often, a massive response takes place every time there is a fire which draws everyone into action with consequent negative results. The problem with this approach is that the aftermath of the fire and the response leave bitter legacies that drag down the performance of people and the system.

Fire fighting systems are designed on the basis of their being needed only in emergencies. They are not meant for regular use. In companies, the attempt should be to make sure that fires do not erupt very often and even if they do, that they are localised very quickly.

On many occasions, people make a career of being corporate arsonists with a view to putting out the fires they have themselves lit and thus gain a reputation as great fire fighters. Such behaviour should be severely discouraged. People who perform without such negative tendencies should be publicly praised and rewarded. This sets up the correct DNA in the system and helps in eventually preparing the company to pull together when a serious problem does occur, so that the correct response is given and collateral damage is kept to a minimum. I am sure that we can do with far fewer fire worshippers in companies. Fire is an elemental force — be it in nature or in corporates; it is best handled with the respect it deserves.

(The writer is advisor to 3i Infotech, Manipal Education & Medical Group and IDFC Pvt Equity.)

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