Gisli Olafsson is a disaster expert, speaker, and advisor on innovation and digital transformation in the social good sector. He is the Chief Technology Officer of One Acre Fund, an African based NGO that is helping small-holder farmers out of extreme poverty. Over the last 25 years, Gisli has responded to disasters across the world, from the earthquake that hit Haiti to the Ebola virus that spread in West Africa, and has worked with organisations like the UN and the World Health Organisation.
Gisli and I talk about the spread of the Coronavirus and leadership in times of crisis. He shares his experiences as a disaster expert and explains how we can use what we learned from the Ebola epidemic to help us get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Gisli says that many countries weren’t prepared well enough for the Coronavirus outbreak and explains how we can respond to the situation and be leaders in this time of crisis.
“You can always be a leader. It’s about asking how you can help people in need.” - Gisli Olafsson
In This Episode of The Sigrun Show:
- Gisli’s background and experience in handling disasters and crises
- How behavior change helped to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and how it can also help stop the COVID-19 outbreak
- Why countries didn’t prepare better for the Coronavirus
- Why the Coronavirus spread so quickly
- How leaders should respond to this situation and what makes a good leader in times of crisis
- Why we shouldn’t give up and look at opportunities
- Gisli’s book on crisis leadership and response
Connect with Gisli Olafsson:
- GisliO.com
- Gisli Olafsson on Twitter
- Gisli Olafsson on Linkedin
- The Crisis Leader on Facebook
- The Crisis Leader: The Art of Leadership in Times of Crisis
Turnaround resources
Here’s the truth: None of us have seen a global pandemic before. Some of us have gone through recessions and a few of us have turnaround experience. Personally, I’ve gone through two recessions that turned out to be great opportunities and was a successful turnaround CEO for a number of years.
It’s become clearer what we need to do in terms of the Coronavirus – social distancing is the new way – and now the bigger challenge is the global recession where every individual and company will be impacted.
But the impact will be smaller the more you prepare and do now.
That’s why my team and I are here to help. We have put together the following resources to support you in these challenging times. Click here to view all the resources.
PR Challenge with Selena Soo
With everything that is going on you may think that PR is not important right now. But it is actually one of the best things you can work on right now. I am reviewing my PR strategy right now and doubling down on everything in terms of PR. Knowing how to use free PR in a crisis is actually your best bet of becoming known and winning the war for attention. At the end of the day you’ll want to become the go-to-expert that everyone remembers. And that’s what you can learn in the PR Challenge.
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