Loma Prieta = Lessons Learned & Business Growth

20 Years ago on October 17^th, an incredible event occurred and I thought it would be a good time to share this experience and the impact to businesses.    

It was a beautiful fall day, very comfortable temperature, the sun was shinning and the winds were light… From my desk on the second floor, my view was beautiful with the trees and hills surrounding the area.  As I prepared to end the day, it was necessary to follow up with a colleague in San Diego and we connected shortly before 5 PM.  Soon after five (precisely at 5:04 PM) I felt a jolt… just enough of a pop to recognize it as an earthquake.   I joked, that we just had a tremor… but soon realized the first jolt was only the prelude to several seconds of larger jolts, rolling waves and motions that cannot be described.  I quickly hung up, braced myself, not knowing when it would end.  The ceiling tiles were falling, the windows were bowing and filing cabinets were falling over with general chaos occurring.

My instinct was to brace myself and ride out the massive earthquake and “hope” the damage to my life, liberty and future pursuits were minimal.  I remember assessing the options for escape and quickly decided that if the windows shattered and the intensity grew, it might be best to exit into the tree (if I could jump to them).  As the motion slowed down, I quickly exited the office, ran down the stairway as sheet rock panels were moving in opposite directions and the concrete stairs were moving as if they were water, and out the door to the parking lot.  A building engineer was standing outside as I exited and he said something about the building was still swaying… it was a newer two story, steel and concrete building and the façade brick was falling off in large chunks.

Good for me… I was out, but soon realized my keys were still in my office.  After a few minutes, I ventured into the building and quickly retrieved my keys.  Even though I survived the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake, it dawned on me that I had no idea where it hit or which direction I could go… or even if I could get home.  The radio was of little help except the San Francisco radio stations were not on air and the valley stations had little information this quickly.   The sun was shining, the hills were beautiful and the birds were singing… what happened?

My personal experience was limited to the description mentioned before and my home and family were OK.  The Bay Area was in shambles with death and destruction with many of the transportation routes destroyed.  What an experience… out of the blue… no warning and no way to make plans.

As with my description, obviously, when the earthquake hit, I was not prepared mentally to adapt on the fly.  My planning was minimal and could have cost me severely… I was lucky.  With this remembrance, it demonstrates the fragile environment we work in.  Through no fault of any business owner, the entire economic climate was put into a tailspin.  Nevertheless, with darkness, there is light and the way people responded… the way communities came together, the tolerances and patients to navigate the transportation headaches provided the basis for business to grow and flourish in the following months.  The Bay Area regained, rebuilt and became new again… but with a better plan to handle emergencies like this for the future.

The earthquake resembles the impact we are experiencing now with the economic crises and we can only hope we are on the rebound.  Indications point to renewed optimism for the future and stabilization of many industries here in the US and abroad… it will take time.  Now is the time of opportunity to evaluate our weaknesses, ensure we are prepared for future challenges and to push forward quickly with a strong and fundamentally sound marketing plan.  Recoveries move swiftly and those that are prepared will reap the rewards.  Make sure you have the best opportunity… seek support for areas of weakness and be ready to respond as the tide of growth comes at you. 

Best wishes for your future and contact us for your business growth needs – we will apply the lessons learned to support your opportunity.