Crisis review
The “swarm intelligence” that guides flocks of birds was evident in the extraordinary response to last year’s Boston Marathon bombings, attendees were told Tuesday at a Harvard-sponsored symposium on leadership lessons from the crisis. Like flying birds that somehow swerve and change direction as one, Bostonians who took action following the attack on April 15 — from average citizens to government leaders to emergency and public-safety personnel — worked in concert, in a time of great trial, without a central command structure. Out of crisis, order arose. In a city known for its tribal and political rivalries, how was this possible? And what lessons might be distilled from the experience? Those questions were at the forefront of a symposium Tuesday at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. “A Tale of Our City: Meta-Leadership Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombings Response” drew more than 350 attendees in senior positions in homeland security, emergency management, and trauma...