How Many Changes Do You Make When Your Impregnable Silo Gets Flooded?

I do like the amazing seed vault run by the Norwegians for us all.

Not least because of the suitably dramatic building entrance design, growing beautifully, jaggedly out of its Arctic island ground. And also due to the associated logos of both Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Crop Trust (above) being so idea sparking, sales presentation friendly.

Despite being considered secure, 2017’s mildest winter saw it ‘flooded‘.

Thankfully calamity did not ensue.

The managers suggest an alternative term; “water intrusion“.

The question that followed; how to shore up our ‘fail-safe’ Doomsday Vault?

Four precautions appear enacted;

• major work to waterproof the 100m-long tunnel into the mountain
• digging trenches into the mountainside to channel meltwater and rain away
• removed electrical equipment from the tunnel that produced some heat
• installed pumps in the vault itself in case of a future flood

My Sales aerial couldn’t help but think on competitive inroads to once solid pitches.

The first time it happens, there may not be any lasting damage. But is the warning sign heeded?

If we are like the Vault here;

There’s the same attempted infraction to keep out.

Some way of diverting it away should it return.

Removal of anything we might be doing to encourage its repetition.

Knowing what we’d do the instant we take on water.

An interesting defensive check-up for any sales process this week.