BRYAN'S BLOG

Risk Leadership: Mother Earth and the Tasmanian Energy Crisis

Here is a great case study on the current energy crisis in Tasmania prepared by Risk Frontiers out of Macquarie University.  Thanks to Andrew Gissing for sharing it and granting permission to share it further.

It reminded me of a talk given by prominent indigenous leader Susan Moylan Coombs on Achievements of Indigenous Women on International Woman’s Day that I had the pleasure of listening to. While she lauded the achievements of many indigenous women, she finished by thanking the most important woman she knows – Mother Earth.  She said words to the effect “When mother earth wants to be heard there is no one capable of keeping her quiet” and she was of course referring to the power of nature.

While the Tasmanian crisis is not Mother Earth speaking with a loud voice all of a sudden, she is ensuring her weight is felt over a long period of time with much reduced rainfall impacting the ability of Hydro Tasmania to respond to the crisis.

Mother Earth teaches us again that having flexible strategies (as Hydro Tasmania does according to the case study) is an imperative for the leaders of organisations.