Surviving a Near-Death Experience: Lessons on Resilience

Geralyn Ritter knows about personal and organizational resilience. She was on Amtrak Train #188, which derailed outside Philadelphia in 2015 at 106 miles per hour. The crash killed eight people and injured more than 200. Geralyn was critically wounded. Her doctors use the word “miraculous” to describe her survival and recovery. She also knows about organizational resilience, as the current Head of External Affairs and ESG for Organon, following twelve years at Merck, where she held numerous leadership positions, including Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel, Head of Global Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, and President of the Merck Foundation. She is the author of Bone by Bone: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing.

In part one of this two-part podcast, Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center, speaks with Geralyn about surviving the accident, her road to recovery, and lessons in personal resilience. They discuss the importance of optimism, acceptance, an action orientation, connection, and a sense of purpose. They discuss how these traits are equally important for leaders, organizations, and society. 

In part two, they go deeper into the subject of organizational resiliency, with practical insights on how to develop a more resilient organization, including the role of ESG in creating a healthy organization, the link between resiliency and sustainability, maintaining resilience in a hybrid work environment, and the value of sharing stories of personal resilience in building a stronger organization. 

The discussion spans 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic to Silicon Valley Bank, with insights for all of us on resilience.

Listen to Part 1

Related Resources

Bone by Bone: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing, Geralyn S. Ritter, June 2022

Consider Operational Resilience a Competitive Advantage, The Conference Board, 2023

C-Suite Outlook 2023: On the Edge: Driving Growth and Mitigating Risk Amid Extreme Volatility, The Conference Board, January 2023

Crisis Management in the Era of "No Normal," The Conference Board, September 2021                                                               

Five Ways a Sustainability Strategy Provides Clarity During a Crisis, The Conference Board, April 2020.

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