45 Crisis management

The Bathing Boy: A boy was bathing in a river and unknowingly got into deep waters. He shouted for help to save him from drowning. A man who was passing by, stopped and began to scold him for being so careless. "Oh, Sir," pleaded the boy, "please save me first and scold me later. I am drowning."

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The proper action for the bystander of this fable seems so obvious. But in our own lives, when faced with crises, we may choose to pontify or criticise instead of managing the crisis first. Here are two examples.

 When her son returned home in a drunken state with bruises, Sylvia, a pious woman, scolded him and chased him away. Next morning, he was found unconscious on the roadside and taken to a hospital. Emergency surgery was done to remove blood clots around his brain. He died later.  When his daughter accidentally broke an expensive cut glass, Mani, a school teacher, scolded her so severely that she could not muster enough courage to show him her bleeding hand. After copious and avoidable blood loss, she was taken to a hospital by her mother for treatment.

In hospital settings, some senior doctors rectify any errors committed by the juniors and counsel them later. Many others waste time in reprimanding and this may delay proper treatment to the patient, the ultimate sufferer in this process.

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