Pressure Cooker

Solution

Thinking under pressure: A crisis simulation.

We built a learning event carefully tailored to the County’s needs and supported by extensive scientific research on dynamic decision making. The simulation began with an introduction to thinking under pressure. But little did participants know that a full-scale crisis simulation was about to unfold, and they would be abruptly challenged to apply these thinking skills right away.

The simulated crisis scenario was a mass electrical outage caused by a solar flare that threw the County into a state of emergency. Working in groups, participants made decisions while under extreme pressure and distractions: alarms were sounding, the room fell dark, and actors posing as news reporters circulated the room attempting to glean information from emergency workers. New sub-crises soon began to reveal themselves.

Participants had to make choices under carefully designed scenarios that caused errors in their perception of and inferences about the unfolding crises. The inferences they made, and the cognitive biases they feel victim to, reinforced the importance models of decision thinking that we later emphasized.

Result

The interactive crisis simulation engaged a large audience in real crisis thinking in a short period of time, driving home essential decision-making principles targeted to the real work environment of emergency responders.

Participants lauded the workshop as a memorable experience that facilitated the quick uptake of new skills. The simulation-based approach helped participants to learn from the natural consequences of their choices, while demonstrating the dangers of cognitive biases. They left the workshop equipped to effect quick, logical and co-ordinated problem solving on the job – the hallmark of any well-prepared and resilient workplace.