Defining Readiness, an Evacuation Planning Case Study, Building Arks, and More.
Profiles in Preparedness #53
Welcome back to The CP Journal, where we break down what it takes to get left of bang.
What does it actually mean to be ready?
As organizations work to prepare for an uncertain future, they do that work with the goal of being ready for a range of situations that could affect their organization or community. But, ready for what, exactly? Ready to do what? And by what measure would they know they have succeeded?
Without clear answers to those questions, preparation can quickly become effort without direction—activity that feels productive, but doesn’t necessarily move us closer to where we want or need to be
As we enter into the first work week of 2026, we will see organizations launch into their annual work plans in the same way that individuals step off in pursuit of their New Year’s resolutions. But before our calendars get filled and expectations become set in stone, it is an appropriate moment to step back and ask a deceptively simple question before committing another year of time, attention, and resources: will this actually make us more ready?
Readiness is a state—a condition an organization is trying to reach and sustain. Sometimes it is easy to mistake this outcome with the process used to achieve it, but when we do, we quickly risk mistaking being busy preparing with being ready to perform when it matters.
This distinction determines whether preparation functions as a strategic discipline or quietly devolves into a compliance exercise. It is a distinction that organizations—often the same ones being asked to do more with fewer resources in the year ahead—would benefit from asking and answering to ensure that every decision, action, and project they start moves them closer to where they hope to be when 2026 comes to a close.
For paying subscribers, we’ll explore this in depth on Wednesday with the first left of bang leadership essay of the year. We’ll provide a clear, operational definition of readiness and show how to use it as a decision filter when setting priorities, funding projects, and building annual work plans. The goal is not more activity, but clearer judgment about what actually makes an organization more ready over time.
Inside The CP Journal
Here are some of the articles that were added to the site this week.
We’ve added a new case study to our portfolio—an evacuation planning project we recently completed for the city of Lone Tree, CO.
Recognizing the life safety importance of evacuation and the limits of their existing knowledge, the city engaged The CP Journal to guide a structured planning process focused on decision-making, coordination, and execution. This case study shows how we did it.
We shared our end of year letter to subscribers last week, looking at where we’ve been, what we’re seeing, and where we’re heading in 2026.
As you come back from what is hopefully a restful holiday period, we encourage you to return to the discussion about how left of bang became an organizational problem.
When organizations lack the ability to anticipate change, they inevitably ask more of the people closest to the consequences. For many in this field, this situation is no longer tolerable.
This Week‘s Reads
Here are a few standout reads from this week with insights, ideas, and perspectives that caught my attention.
Article | The parable of Chesterton's Fence. An incredible reminder—delivered through a parable—of the need to understand before pursuing change. Slowing down to understand first isn't about resisting change or blocking it unnecessarily. It's about not assuming something is useless before learning its purpose and the problem it was designed to solve. As I read it, examples from my life and work immediately came to mind, as I think they will for many others.
Article | Predicting Rain Is Irrelevant. Building the Ark Is Everything. Sam Alaimo's What then? newsletter is one of the few I read every time it lands in my inbox, and this essay struck a chord. There's no shortage of headlines advertising doom and gloom these days, but we choose how we respond to them. As the world continues to change, we can drift into uselessness—over-committing to technology that creeps (or forces) its way into our lives and degrades the skills and resilience that were once our greatest strengths. Or we can reclaim our agency and deliberately build (and rebuild) the skills needed to grow, learn, and act independently. As he closes his article, we can choose, “Not as a Luddite but as a craftsman.”
Article | Maker vs. Manager: How Your Schedule Can Make or Break You. I re-read this article while reflecting on the year ahead and knowing that success requires more than just setting goals—it demands building the infrastructure to make them inevitable. I've experienced both extremes of the Maker vs. Manager spectrum at different points in my career and this past year marked an intentional shift back toward the Maker schedule after years of operating full-throttle on a Manager's calendar. For me, the year ahead will require a better balance of both, but it’ll be the choices I make around my calendar that will influence whether I achieve that balance.
Before You Go
Found this useful? Share it. Passing this along helps grow a community focused on staying left of bang.
If you want to go deeper, a paid subscription gives you access to advanced courses, playbooks, and exclusive leadership writing.
And if you’re working to strengthen organizational preparedness, that’s our work—from strategy and assessments to planning and exercises.