Lessons from Harvey

It is a Wednesday night around 8 PM. The winds have slowed down and the trees are swaying usually. Just 5 days ago, now seems like a month, it wasn’t so. Hurricane Harvey, having been downgraded to a tropical storm was raining its wrath on the Greater Houston area. I remember we were watching the tv and I was telling my wife that this will pass and we won’t be affected. I was wrong. We had endured the tax day flooding in April 2016 and our neighborhood had simply gulped down all the water. That was 17 inches of rain in two days. It couldn’t get worse than that. It did.

The rain was incessant. It didn’t feel like an atmospheric phenomenon anymore but a state of being. The pitter patter on the roof and gutters had become white noise a while back but now it was getting on the nerves And this was just Sunday and Harvey was getting started. A large part of Central Houston was already under water and search and rescue efforts had started. We live in a Southwest suburb of Houston that is protected by levees. Most of the communities in this area simply wouldn’t exist without the massive mounds of clay meant to shield them from the Brazos River and its tributaries. In the past when Hurricane Ike, Rita and tropical storm Alison had battered Houston these levees have protected our neighborhood from flooding. This data point gave me a false sense of security as I sat on the couch and watched the news report of people getting rescued by canoes and jacked up pickups. Harvey was an outlier.

Monday morning the area around our home was flagged for a voluntary evacuation. We were now yellow on the map but who has ever paid heed to a yellow warning light. We stayed put. Then things went south rather rapidly. The rain didn’t let us. In fact, it got worse as a high-pressure system on the east side kept Harvey over Houston. One news article described it as a marble on a flat surface. It wobbled around and around and kept the rain coming. The pumps were pumping the water out of the levees at full capacity but they were losing the fight. By Monday morning, 2 days after Harvey had checked into Houston, our neighborhood started filling up and we were now Red on the map. Mandatory evacuation. We unplugged everything inside the house, rolled up the carpets, packed up the valuables and drove out. I’ll tell you right here that we are all OK and our home didn’t face any water damage but it came pretty darn close. From the time we were driving out of our subdivision to the moment we returned back home on a sunny day there were some life lessons I learned.

Know your puddles

Some obstacles aren’t worth facing. Check your ego and find a detour. Most of the time there is one. As we were driving out that day there were a couple of time when I lost control of the car in the high water and if you have never experienced it, I sincerely wish you never have to. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as the parking sensors went off due to the water but the wheels met the road again and we kept going. Not everyone was lucky that day and so it is important in days like these and to evaluate your obstacles.

Don’t follow the big boys

A couple of F-150s and Escalades made it through 14" of water. A Mazda didn’t. We turned around. Not everyone has the luxury of 21" wheels and should act accordingly. Just because they were able to do it doesn’t mean you should.

Outliers aren’t noise

The whole storm of Harvey was an outlier. It broke all records of rainfall in the continental US and the national weather service had to create a new color on their rainfall map legend. When analyzing data it is tempting to throw out outliers to fit a model better but if that outlier is blinking red it is worth a second look. It might just change your perspective.

Strangers have the strongest hand

From this tragedy, the only beautiful thing that emerged is a display of empathy, compassion, and selflessness of Houstonians. Complete strangers came out to help with boats, canoes, trucks and even human chains and rescued people. Volunteers poured in from across the country to help us back on our feet. Businesses opened their hearts and wallets to alleviate some of the pain. Strangers often are the best life coaches and we shouldn’t be hesitant to ask them for help.

This ain’t the worse and definitely not the last

Hurricane Katrina was a 100-year storm. Hurricane Sandy was a 100-year storm. Hurricane Harvey was a 500-year storm. And all of them happened within a course of 12 years. Our climate is changing the and regardless of whatever side of the aisle you are on regarding climate change, these events will continue to affect you. Another Havey with a different name will come at us again and it won’t take 500 years to happen. We have to be prepared for it.

If you read these lessons once again but apply it to your business or work they’ll still hold valid.

• Some business obstacles are not worth the hassle.
• Just because Google and Apple can do it doesn’t mean my startup should.
• The dot com bubble burst in 2001 was an outlier but there are lessons to learn from it.
• How many people do you know personally? 1000? 2000? 5000? There are more strangers out there than people you know, so the odds of receiving quality help (in form of knowledge, feedback, capital or connections) are better with strangers than with acquaintances. So don’t be shy and say hi.
• Waves of failure will keep hitting you so while talent and education can get you started, persistence will see you through.

The storm has now passed and Houston is still groggy from the blow but I know we will recover and become stronger. We always do.

#HoustonStrong