Author: Tara Dewar
Chief Operating Officer, de Novo Solutions
From childhood dreams inspired by The Wizard of Oz to standing 400 yards from a textbook tornado in Oklahoma, Chief Operating Officer Tara Dewar shares how her passion for storm chasing mirrors the skills that drive successful Oracle Cloud digital transformations. This personal reflection explores the surprising parallels between pursuing supercells across America’s Great Plains and managing complex implementation programmes—from meticulous planning and risk mitigation to staying calm under pressure and celebrating team success.
An enduring memory of watching The Wizard Of Oz when I was five, sparked something that would stay with me for decades – a fascination with the raw power and beauty of severe weather. That childhood moment evolved into a lifelong passion to witness mother nature at her wildest —the dichotomy of beauty and fury that supercells can produce through jaw-dropping cloud structures and colours, driving rain, strong winds, the rumble of the hail core, booming thunder, large hail, the bear cage, lightning and tornadoes. My first foray into the world of storm chasing was in 2017 and this year on my 4th attempt I finally realised my childhood dream of seeing a tornado. Nothing could have prepared me for experiencing a textbook cone tornado, 400 yards from where I stood. It was majestic, serene, an object of wonder. Standing in the inflow, I also experienced its destructive side being nigh on exfoliated by the grit and dirt of the Oklahoman countryside as the strong winds drew this material in, along with moisture to fuel the storm and tornado. I was totally calm, in awe and sensed it was a true spiritual moment.
So Why Write About Storm Chasing?
There are many parallels between pursuing this adrenaline fuelled activity and project managing a programme. I truly believe that my many years of successfully implementing and supporting Oracle systems have contributed to making my storm chasing adventures feel a much more familiar experience.
Planning: Know Your Window
Good outcomes are a result of meticulous and experienced planning. Undertaking the necessary research and inputs to understand your critical path and collectively agreeing the plan and optimal time to transition. There are prime times in the storm chasing season where supercells are more predictable and therefore, we target these periods.
Preparation: Confidence Comes from Competence
Preparation provides knowledgeable, consistent and confident messaging to stakeholders. We would never undertake a design session without first having the necessary skillset to build the system, discuss, advise and agree how the design will work for our clients. Any storm chaser will have a fundamental understanding of supercells and how to chase them safely, correctly interpreting the relevant daily weather reports and using the radar apps for monitoring. I also prep my DLSR camera before I leave the UK – ensuring I can remember the correct settings, batteries are all in order and my lenses are all clean!
Communication: Stay Connected or Get Left Behind
Communication keeps all stakeholders updated with progress, escalate risks and issues, asking for help when outside your comfort zone. Without robust communication teams become disjointed, frustrated and disengaged, milestones are not met, opportunities are missed, risks become issues which take longer to resolve, the critical path is impacted which results in delays and additional costs. Storm chasing is dangerous. Any team lead will check that all participants understand the do’s and don’ts – we have to be a tight unit to keep safe, all vehicles in the group are wired up with radios so that we remain in constant contact, if there is a problem of any kind it is broadcast immediately, and we react.
Risk Management: Respect the Danger
Any good programme will have an active RAID log that is monitored and updated on a regular basis. This is a key governance deliverable to keep the plan on time and budget. A storm chaser knows that they are risking their life, however with all the necessary processes in place, that risk is mitigated as much as possible – mother nature can be fickle, and even seasoned professionals have tragically lost their lives.
Contingency Planning: Always Have an Exit Strategy
Forewarned is forearmed! For any transition we produce a contingency plan and escalation paths document; further, natural contingency is built into our transition project plan for that just in case moment. I have never experienced a transition where everything was plain sailing; we execute our contingency plan and have always gone live on the planned date. The same is true when chasing storms, you always have escape routes planned, you keep up to date with the latest radar telemetry, and you keep a very keen eye on the storm you are chasing.
Keeping Calm Under Pressure: When Chaos Arrives, Lead
In any walk of life, events will occur that are out of our control, things go wrong. Never panic, remain calm, enact your contingency plans; when keeping a clear head, it is much easier to navigate your way through to a safe and timely resolution.
Team Game: No One Does This Alone
Every individual that is participating in the experience has a part to play in ensuring its success, bonds are formed and achievements celebrated, be it a transformation programme or chasing storms!
Why I’ll Keep Chasing (Both Storms and Transformations)
My passion for chasing, regardless of the inherent dangers that lie within, will never cease, in fact it’s addictive! Making new friends, visiting the back waters of America that a usual tourist would never see, and ultimately anticipating and watching these amazing cells develop on any given day.
It’s not for the faint hearted, but then again, neither is managing and delivering large complex transformation programmes! Both demand focus, agility, and the ability to stay calm in the chaos — qualities that keep me coming back for more!
I am eagerly awaiting my next trip out to the Great Plains of America.
