I recall reading a study on how fire marshalls form a plan of action on arrival at the scene of a fire; the study observed (and condemned) them for coming up with an idea, then pursuing that first one immediately. Due to the pressure of time, it was pretty much "this might work" followed by "ok, do that". The study noted that better, quicker, safer options were available, but they were not followed simply because the marshalls didn't think of them first.
If you want a structured approach to dealing with "fires" perhaps take a leaf out of their (new) book which prescribes five phases:
- Collect and analyse information at the fire/incident
- Predict fire/incident behaviour
- Tabulate and keep track of resources
- Prepare available strategies to control the fire/incident over time
- Apply appropriate strategy for the time
Or need a funky acronym to recall in a crisis?
R.R.A.P.I.D.
- Reaction - Mobilize resources to incident
- Reconnaissance - Collect data about the situation
- Appreciation - Choose a course of action based on best and worst case scenarios
- Plan - develop a plan based on the course of action
- Issue of Orders - Use the standard briefing format
- Deployment - Execute and monitor