Reacting swiftly and effectively in a crisis situation can be the difference between life and death.
Conversely, errors in judgment during such critical moments can lead to dire consequences.
Ollie Law, aged 35, exemplifies this truth. Alongside his wife, Hannah, he runs a global crisis management initiative known as Fixinc.
Ollie is a key member of a rapid response team, dedicated to assisting businesses and organizations before, during, and after natural disasters.
Throughout his career, he has encountered numerous perilous scenarios. He emphasizes that one common and deadly mistake people make during disasters is crucial to avoid.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Ollie highlighted that the gravest error in emergencies is presuming how others will react or what actions they will take.
‘What I’ve learned from all of this is one simple thing: people don’t do what you think they’ll do,’ he said.
‘We’re trained to manage high–pressure situations, and I’m proud of how our entire team at Fixinc has learned to operate in extremely tense scenarios, whether that’s natural disasters, cyber incidents or even events involving war (like Dubai right now where one of our advisors is based).
Ollie Law, 35, travels the world with his wife, Hannah, running a crisis management program called Fixinc
He is part of a critical response team who helps businesses or organizations during and after natural disasters
‘But the training doesn’t make you immune to it. It just means you know how to keep going.’
He added that in scary and life–threatening situations, people often act on instinct but he recommended taking a moment to stop and think before making any decisions.
‘There’s a concept called “croc brain,” which is essentially your first instinctive reaction to a threat,’ he continued.
‘Once you learn to recognize when you’re in it and how to control it, any situation becomes just a small puzzle to solve rather than a crisis.’
Law explained that his company helps businesses or organizations bounce back after they’re hit with any sort of emergency, whether it’s a ‘natural disaster, a cyberattack, a pandemic or a geopolitical shift.’
‘We help them analyze [potential threats], put plans and processes in place and test their response so they can sleep a little easier knowing they’re more prepared today than they were yesterday,’ Law said.
‘Our client base spans universities, stadiums, office complexes, banks, government, emergency services, shopping centers, data centers and a range of private and public sector organizations.
‘We’re a people–first business. The plans and systems only work if the humans behind them know what to do when things go wrong.’
He explained to the Daily Mail that the worst thing someone can do during an emergency is assume how someone else is going to act or what they’re going to do
He admitted that his job is ‘incredibly stressful,’ explaining: ‘I’ve been on the ground during some very difficult events’
He admitted that his job is ‘incredibly stressful,’ explaining: ‘I’ve been on the ground during some very difficult events.’
‘I was in central Christchurch during New Zealand’s 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, helping businesses coordinate their response, relocate staff and build what we call a common operating picture so that agencies who were all working on different systems could actually share information,’ he continued.
‘The aftershock sequence lasted months, and each new event triggered fresh responses from people who were already exhausted, traumatized or had left the city entirely.
‘That experience fundamentally shaped how I think about inter–agency communication and influenced everything I’ve built since.’
He also recalled flying to Tōhoku, Japan, shortly after the 2011 tsunami to help those who had survived rebuild.
‘Few people have seen destruction on that scale,’ he reflected. ‘What stayed with me most was the silence.
‘With nearly 20,000 people dead, everything becomes very still. The Japanese remained incredibly composed and professional throughout, which was both humbling and heartbreaking.’
Law explained that being around so much destruction has ‘fundamentally changed’ who he is and has changed his ‘relationship with risk.’
He explained that while he’s ‘more cautious than he used to be,’ he has ‘far less anxiety because he knows how to plan and prepare.’
‘Nothing truly surprises me anymore. It’s a bit like stoicism. You expect things to go wrong, and you deal with them if and when they come,’ he said.
‘It’s almost as if I walk everywhere looking behind me while still enjoying the moment.’
He and his wife don’t have a permanent residence since he travels full–time to help his clients, and he only travels with one bag of stuff
One of the ways he stays prepared is by having very few belongings.
He and his wife don’t have a permanent residence since he travels full–time to help his clients, and he only travels with one bag of stuff.
‘[Me and my wife have] become true minimalists, not as an aesthetic choice but because we’ve learned how little you actually need,’ he said.
‘There are times when you need to move quickly. During events that turn dangerous, whether that’s a natural disaster or rising geopolitical tensions, you have to be ready to pack and leave at short notice.
‘Having bags you can carry and move with fast isn’t just a preference, it’s a necessity.
‘I laugh when I see young travelers with enormous backpacks full of things they’ll never need. When you’ve had to evacuate, you learn to travel differently.’
While his job is certainly intense, Law said he is grateful for everything that it has taught him.
‘We’ve learned to enjoy the very small things, like sitting in a city park we’ve never been to before and just watching the locals go about their day,’ he concluded.
‘We’ve learned how to stay calm. We’ve learned how to slow time down and make it feel more meaningful. I rarely know what day of the week it is.
‘I work when I need to work, and the rest of the time I explore. That might sound chaotic, but it’s actually the opposite. You become far more present.’
