Avi Muskal
This article was also published in Forbes Israel magazine
Marking the Hebrew Language Day, "Tirlul" (colloquial for "craziness") voted as Israelis' Word of The Year. Thousands of Israelis chose this word that stands for 'going off the rails', and by so referred to a situation that can freak us out. The Hebrew Language Academy reported the word "Vaccine" came in second, which was ever so symbolic. The last two years have been full of craziness, and perhaps, if we were wiser and would get vaccinated also in the larger sense, not just against the Coronavirus - we would have gotten little less crazy.
New York has announced it would hold New Year's celebrations at Time Square, as they always do, but under masks and restrictions. Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney and Las Vegas will also welcome 2022 holding festive events, as planned, and for those who would book place in advance. In fact, other than Israel, only two other countries have completely closed their borders in recent days: Japan and Chile. Other states permit entry and exit, which are subjected to travel restrictions that apply to those who arrive from red countries.
On the other hand, the Israeli government took it's time and imposed restrictions on entry from Ben Gurion Airport, long after the Omicron had already spread and raged across the country. Clearly, this is not a variant that only arrives from overseas. There is plenty of it here, among us. The Chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, Prof. Hagai Levin, also said in an interview on Reshet Bet radio, that he did not consider it was necessary. So why impose restrictions?
Israeli Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman, went very far when suggested the professionals of the local tourism industry, to change their vocation. It does not get crazier than this.
According to Dun & Bradstreet data, in 2020 the most dangerous industries were the restaurants and Cafes industry, travel agency industry and the fashion industry. No less than 4,000 restaurants closed in the past year, as well as 1,200 transportation enterprises and about 1,000 in the field of fashion enterprises.
Shortly after the Omicron and before the discovery of the next strain of the Coronavirus, we are entitled to hope for, and expect some routine. Does the Minister of Finance expect airlines, hotels professionals, tour-guides, restaurant owners and others, whose vocation is in the fields of culture and leisure - will go under yet another vocational training and will run back, when he says so, and at his command?
Here's some more from the Faculty of Craziness Science: originally, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett demanded an obligatory Green Pass will be applied is shopping centers. However, on the ground, the Purple Pass was sufficient and that, too, to a limited extent.
The new guidelines under the Purple Pass permit the entry of one person for every 15 square meters in the mall, but make an exception for supermarkets, where it will be twice as crowded (one person for every 7 square meters). Dining at fast food stands in a public area at the mall is prohibited, sitting in a restaurant in the same mall is allowed. The restaurant owners are right in saying that this decision will not reduce morbidity but will only expand the spread of the economic epidemic.
Israel is far behind The United States, Britain, France, Japan, Italy and Canada in terms of immunization rate against Corona. In Canada and Italy, the rate is at more than 80 percent. Portugal and Cuba have crossed 90 percent and the UAE is already approaching 100 percent. Israeli immunization rate is about 70 percent.
How has is come to this? That craziness takes over vaccination? Apparently, this is the case when the crisis-management is based on caprices and hysteria.
If, during the curbing period, we would have taken action in order to increase immunization, there would be no need for the Prime Minister hysterical message now. If we were working prior the Omicron variant to create a supervised and efficient mechanism for entry and exit at Ben Gurion Airport, and not opened everything as if Coronavirus never existed, it's possible there was no need to consider now new and hysterical restrictions.
Whims and impulses can't lead crisis-management. The question whether a particular decision was derived from craziness or was made as a spin – can be clarified by proving its effectiveness. Here's another example for craziness: unvaccinated students in elementary schools continue to study in any situation and under all local-color-categories; while their vaccinated siblings, should remain with remote, online school, if 70 percent of their peers remain unvaccinated and their local color-category has changed from green to orange.
A quick glimpse at the current infection rate among children under 11 clarifies just more vulnerable this young population is, compared with is older youth. Nevertheless, it is only in the next few days that the vaccination campaign kick-off in elementary schools. What we were waiting for, ant why?!
What applies to the Israeli government, also applies to every CEO and head of an authority: decisions about crisis-management and crisis-prevention should be made ahead of time, and as calmly and cool as possible. They should not derive from panic or only follow public notions. They should not attempt to resemble leadership but should actually lead and have things under control.
For example, if your in-house opposition does not accept the restrictions you impose on leaving the country, do not try to apply the restrictions on the entire population. Personal example is not merely a curtesy which comes with the territory of a Prime Minister or a CEO. It what makes the entire difference between craziness to a true, reliable response to a crisis.
So, what is the proper way of decision making in times of crisis?
Here are my ten commandments for a leader or a CEO in crisis:
Do not suppress the problem; don't lie to yourself, the public or to your customers.
Do not allow yourself to fall apart, it may trigger a domino effect.
Not just mentally and spiritually, also physically! Do not run away. Your presence and visibility are essential.
Do not freeze. Take proactive action ahead of time, based on your judgment.
Do not delay your response. Postponement only adds to problems, it never solves them
Do not keep doing what you have done so far. When things go wrong it does not help.
Do not deny the obvious. Denial is a lie.
Do not make up a cover story. Usually, it makes things worse.
Do not blame or point fingers at others. These are excuses and not solutions.
Do not give up. If you let go and surrender, there is no chance to win the day….
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