Blue Flashing Light Syndrome

More extreme weather events for climate change deniers to grapple with. This time across much of the UK. Worst floods in a generation. Again.

I caught the flooding quango chief exec talking about managing both prevention and impact. He was rather good.

He described what they term Blue Flashing Light Syndrome.

The name refers to the obvious attention in the immediacy of such event. Emergency vehicles everywhere, blue lights flashing.  Yet the aftermath of a flood is way worse for those affected. Livelihoods, employment, hygiene and lifestyles all severely, negatively hit. So the phrase is about understanding that it’s “not just the water going through the door”, but what happens in the days, weeks, months, even years afterwards.

I instantly saw the selling parallel.

We’re renowned as a profession for being all gung-ho to get the order. Only for the gaze to wander. When we’re fire-fighting, we can be super-attentive. Only for the TLC to slip once (semi-)resolved.

It strikes me as a great way to get prospects on-side. Use the same analogy.

You are not prone to this syndrome yourself. Tell them. And state all the reasons why. Each procedure you have in place. To ensure hands are properly held post-signature.