Many Preppers plan on being what is referred to as “lone wolves”. That is, they plan on tackling the apocalypse all by themselves without the help of others. Other Preppers have formed some type of group. These groups can be made up of extended family, friends, neighbors or any combination thereof. History has shown us that humans are social beings in that we bond together to work together and form communities. Based on that history, one can surmise that when society ends as we know it, new organizations will be formed. What once was a group made up of your immediate family, your brothers’ family and a few cousins and their families will morph into a larger group as people with knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) that are needed or wanted by your group are added.
Prepper fiction is full of characters that manage/leader every aspect of their community’s post-SHTF life. If this was possible and feasible, we would not have the rank structure we do in the military, we would just have a general who would lead everyone. Span of Control should be considered in our planning. Sure, you can still be “in charge” but research shows that the average person can only manage 5-7 people in stressful environments. My community was having a large chemical spill drill and the local fire department asked me to provide some advice to the deputy chief who was going to be in charge of the incident since I was an Incident Command System (ICS) instructor. I stressed the need to quickly delegate tasks to others. Something that is hard to do if you are not used to doing it. During the drill a photograph was taken of him surrounded by at least 30 people, all with questions or wanting information, and he has the “deer in the head lights” look because he was overwhelmed since he did not delegate functions/operations/tasks to other people. We need to ensure we have a good expandable organizational structure and management system in place before SHTF.
Many of us may believe that after the collapse we would not take on any “new” people, except that Emergency Room Physician, or maybe a chemists, or veterinarian, or herbalist, or . . . and the list will go on and on, especially after the fall when holes in our preps start to become extremely evident and as we start to rebuild society. Logical thinking would not only consider the ramifications of taking on new people but also consider the ramifications of not taking on new people.
Think about the 1930s and the migration of scientists from Germany, many of whom took part in the development of the atomic bomb. Back up history for a minute and consider the ramifications of the Untied State not taking in those scientists, and instead they migrate to China and the Soviet Union. What do you think about that comrade? If we are to believe that post-TEOTWAWKI will be akin to Mad Max then we need to think about what happens if groups that are aggressive take in people whose knowledge and skills can latter impact you in negative ways. This is not to say only take in those with military skills but rather we should be looking at those who can help with restoring the means of production. History shows that those with the means of production enjoy more safety and security.Continue reading“Management by Objective for TEOTWAWKI Planning – Part 1, by 3AD Scout”