Efficiency and control are the stars we steer by under normal conditions. Disruption throws us into a different hemisphere, where those stars aren’t helpful, or even present in the sky above us. To learn how to navigate this new world, we’ll examine the successful practices of professionals and organizations that routinely operate under disruption. Emergency response, rapid product development, and even large-scale artistic endeavors are all examples of complex project work without precise control over the circumstances, and all these groups share intriguing operational habits we can adopt when we’re suddenly thrown into the same situation.

Natalie Simpson is associate professor and chair of the Operations Management and Strategy Department in the UB School of Management. Her research on supply chains and emergency services has been published such outlets as the Journal of Operations Management, the Journal of the Operational Research Society and the European Journal of Operational Research.

Simpson earned a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and both an MBA and PhD from the University of Florida. Her teaching interests include operations management and analytics, and she has earned numerous distinctions for instruction, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the Production and Operations Management Society’s Wickham Skinner Award. She currently serves as a director on the board of the Decision Sciences Institute.