Director of American Red Cross, Monterey Bay Area Chapter and Former Executive Vice President of Eastman Kodak

My first introduction to the name Rebecca Costa was in my first week as   the Chief Executive Officer of what was at that time the American Red Cross, Carmel Area Chapter.  It was from a volunteer in our Chapter who had spent weeks with Rebecca, as a disaster volunteer for the Red Cross, during Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

He was providing me with an introduction to the role of a disaster volunteer during the time of a serious and complex disaster.  He and Rebecca were partners for several weeks, so he was speaking  about her with personal knowledge and great respect.  I was slightly intimidated by Rebecca’s credentials, as well as my volunteer’s explanation of her incredible abilities on the ground as a volunteer.  His final words to me were “you should call her”….and so I did…many weeks later when I had acquired enough courage to make sure I could ask intelligent questions.

Upon meeting her, I was immediately struck by a very unintimidating, warm, honest person whose style and knowledge was ultimately very instrumental, in a multitude of ways, in accelerating my learning curve in the non-profit world.

We quickly found that our backgrounds were similar, both successfully straddling the for-profit and non-profit worlds.  Our approach to problems and solutions were also alike in many ways.   Over long discussions and much bantering, we found and developed a strong friendship.  Rebecca’s views and teachings of her experience in the non-profit world led me down a different and successful path in developing the expertise, success, and change management required to make our Chapter successful.  I now look at problem solving with a different set of eyes, not necessarily choosing the easy path at the onset of, or diagnosis of, a problem.

In her book The Watchman’s Rattle Rebecca presents her observations and conclusions on problem solving in a complex world, in a comprehensive and attractive way.  She does this by first presenting the limitations of ancient man’s ability to solve serious problems, modern man’s inability to solve similar problems, and then proposing pathways to improving that ability in today’s chaotic environment.

She has distilled volumes of research material and made it understandable to the average reader with limited scientific background.  Her views on the fall of great civilizations are intriguing and her revelations on “insight” gives us hope for a better future.  Specific ways of applying short term solutions for mitigating very serious challenges are proposed along with simple life changes we can all employ to facilitate the “insight” that will eventually lead to permanent solutions.  Through her words we discover that modern man’s behavior and ability to confront the very serious dilemmas of terrorism, natural disasters, the environment, water and food are genetically limited.  This has resulted in specific behaviors such as the use of widespread opposition to all proposed solutions, scapegoating, invalid coincidental correlations, turf protection, and a destructive relationship with money to ensure survival.  It sounds depressing, but Rebecca shows us that there is light at the end of the tunnel-that anyone has the ability to see through the mist at any given moment and come forth with an observation that can change mankind.  And, while we are waiting for our magic moment, we can all improve our chances with basic, everyday healthy life choices. 

As I was reading The Watchman’s Rattle, I realized why some of my approaches to problems in my own non-profit organization may have been less effective while others were wildly successful.  In a world where non-profits are popping up daily, the book allows our minds to travel to that ideal place where utilization of individual skills in a collaborative way, with partners, is the solution for success.  Hard as this may be to comprehend for some, it may very well be the one thing that unites non-profits and those that donate to our respective causes. 

Rebecca’s observations on the duplication of relief efforts by non-profits in Haiti following the 2009 earthquake were painfully accurate.  By thinking out of the box and actively consolidating functions to decrease duplication of effort, and increase partnerships with other non-profits, we have a fighting chance to strengthen our organizations, independently and collectively, and provide more effective services to our communities. “Silo” thinking can actually contribute to an increase in hardship and loss of life during a major disaster. 

For all its seriousness this book is actually a fun read, written in a pleasant and easy going manner so characteristic of Rebecca.  Many times I found myself laughing out loud at the everyday examples and unique studies that she used to describe our increasingly complex lives.  I was especially amused by her description of an experiment done at the University of Chicago which introduced Chimpanzees to some basic principles in economics; and who would not smile at the hilarious scene of Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance stuffing chocolates down their blouses on a candy factory assembly line.

After reading The Watchman’s Rattle, I found myself looking at all aspects of life from business, to relationships, the community, and most of all my own personal life, in a very different way.    I am certain that you will feel the same after reading Rebecca Costa’s The Watchman’s Rattle.