Dr. Ken Wisian
Associate Director, Environmental Division, Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin
June 1, 2020

Don’t Panic! These words, from the science fiction classic, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” are a good starting point for thinking through a crisis. The world is in the midst of a once-in-a-century cataclysm that threatens public health and undermines governmental and economic stability. People at all levels of society have suddenly found themselves on unfamiliar ground and scrambling to chart a course from day to day and moment to moment.

In his timely and brief webinar, Dr. Ken Wisian presented an introduction and overview of his approach to crisis leadership and management, based on timeless principles and illustrations from ancient Greece to present events and experiences from his decades of military, governmental, and educational service. Primary leadership principles were discussed and then applied to the specific phases of a crisis. This talk will not give you the answers to every situation. It will start you on the path to establishing a framework that enables you to approach crisis situations with more confidence and less confusion.

This particular webinar was the latest in HDO’s Humans@Work webinar series. These free one-hour sessions provide participants with immediately applicable professional insights based on research by UT Austin’s top faculty. Be on the lookout for our next installment soon!

In the meantime, you can view Dr. Ken Wisian’s past webinar on leading through a crisis below.

Webinar Leader: Dr. Ken Wisian

Ken Wisian, Ph.D., Major General USAF (retired) is a research scientist and director of the disaster research program at the Center for Space Research, The University of Texas at Austin. He was recently appointed as the Associate Director of the Environmental Division at the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin. Dr. Wisian has worked in, published, and taught in fields from geophysics, geothermal energy, leadership, international/military affairs, space exploration and life in the universe. Dr. Wisian has been a first responder and leader in multiple national disasters. General Wisian is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School with more than 70 hours of high and medium risk test flights. He is a veteran of three wars; flown over 50 combat missions; his medals include the Bronze Star, Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal.