Preparing for the Unexpected

Join me as I talk with recognized Business Continuity & Resilience industry thought leader, Shane Mathew. We talk about the nuances of decision-making during a crisis, but also how we prepare our Crisis Team members and decision-makers before a crisis occurs. 1. The importance of good decision-making, 2. How the Chernobyl disaster triggered the conversation of decision-making, 3. Fear and decisions, 4. The 'Netflix Dilemma' (you gotta hear this), 5. Phases of Decision Making, 6. Social Media impacts to decision-making, 7. Knowing stakeholders, 8. Know your values, 9. How stress impacts decisions, 10. How to make better decisions, 11. The 'Point Guard', 12. Frameworks, 13. Decision-making tools, 14. Practice!...and much more. Shane takes a step back from not just talking about decision-making during a crisis, but how we can prepare ourselves to make decisions before a crisis ever occurs. That's something that doesn't get talked about enough. Share shares some great insights you don't want to miss. Enjoy!

Join me, as I talk with long-time insurance control expert, Chris Snider. Insurance in the Resilience/BCM industry has been a topic I've wanted to cover for a long time and Chris does a great job of explaining how insurance really works, using understandable and relatable language. All corporate leaders, business continuity and resilience professionals need to understand how insurance policies and providers work with you, rather than assuming how they work or believing that by having a policy in place you're protected. During our chat, Chris touches on: 1. Myths of insurance, 2. Working through risk assessments, 3. Insurance Policies, 4. Asking 'What if..., 5. Insurance providers and risks, 6. Incorporating emergency risks, 7. Including insurance as a member of your BCM steering committee (and the benefits of doing that), 8. What organizations can do to keep premiums low, 9. Proactive vs reactive, 10. Bill S211 and the impact upon insurers and organizations, 11. Bill S211 and its relation to supply chain management...and more. A very insightful discussion where Chris clarifies how insurance providers can actually help you BCM and resilience programs. Don't miss what Chris has to say. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with Business Continuity specialist Gayle Anders and Technical Continuity specialist TJ Mead - both of Netflix. As 'departments-of-one' they've been able to transform their organization's thinking on Business Continuity and Technical Continuity and share many lessons on how they did it, and how they're keeping things moving forward. During our chat we touch on: 1. Terminology (a small change makes a big difference), 2. Challenges, 3. Cultural components, 4. Plan Ownership 5. Changing perspectives and making it personal, 6. Building relationships, 7. Successful programs (this might not be what you're used to), 8. Becoming a 'knowledge hub', 9. Sharing mistakes and lessons learned, 10. Understanding and keeping leadership support, 11. Staying current...and more! Gayle and TJ share some great insights on how they've been able to raise the bar with their programs and provide some valuable advice for industry professionals wanting to raise the bar in their own organizations. Don't miss what Gayle and TJ have to share. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with respected globally recognized operational risk, business continuity, and risk expert, and chair of the BCI's Women in Resilience Interest Group, Ratna Pawan. During our discussion we touch on two topics: Operational Resilience and Women in Resilience. 1. Operational Resilience (OpR) a. Defining operational resilience, b. OpR is BCM done well (neither of us like this comment), c. Risk awareness, d. OpR ownership, e. Understanding the inter-relationships, f. BCM as an OpR professional, g. Why other areas need to pay attention to OpR...and more! 2. Women in Resilience (WiR) a. What WiR? b. WiR initiatives, c. The challenges being faced, d. Allies and equality, e. Contacting and being part of the WiR interest group...and more! Ratna share some great insights into Operational Resilience and talks candidly about the BCI's Women in Resilience group - the successes and the challenges. Don't miss what Ratna has to share. Enjoy!

Join me, Thursday, October 31/24 on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel, as I discuss Cyber Response Issues with Regina Phelps. During our back-and-forth chat we touch on subjects such as: 1. Assumptions, 2. Bringing everyone together (and we do mean everyone!), 3. Identifying the top issues in Cyber, 4. Checklists, 5. Uncomfortable conversations, 6. Determining a leaders, 7. Leadership, Decisiveness, and respected (you must listen to know what these refer to), 8. Consistency, 9. Workshops (aka testing/exercising), 10. Insurance (it’s more than you think), 11. 3rd Party Vendors…and much more! Regina shares a wealth of knowledge once again and you don’t want to miss out on the insights, as you never know when your organization will be faced with a cyber event. Enjoy!

It's part 2 of my talk with resilience specialist, Jason Hoss, as we continue out discussion on personal resilience and how it helps establish strong organizational and operational resilience within our businesses. We use our own stories of resilience to help understand how the personal side of resilience will help build and influence Organizational and Operational Resilience. You don't want to miss these stories - both personal and professional. Perhaps they'll help you on your organization's path of resilience. Enjoy!

To help establish strong organizational and operational information within our businesses, one first must start with personal resilience; the foundation upon which you can build and influence Organizational and Operational Resilience. I speak with resilience specialist and friend, Jason Hoss, as we share our own stories - the good, the bad, and the ugly - about our own journeys of resilience. You don't want to miss these stories - both personal and professional. Perhaps they'll help you on your organization's path of resilience. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with globally recognized Crisis, Conflict, and Emergency Management (CCEM) expert, Kyle King, as we talk about a couple of important subjects. In segment 1 we talk about The Role of Business Continuity in International Security. 1. BCM and economic stability. 2. Geopolitical risks, 3. International security and BCM, 4. Public and Private partnerships, 5. Operational continuity, 6. The inward / outward view of Business Continuity, 7. Regulations...and much more! For the second segment we talk about Emergency Management or Crisis Management: Is it Time to Evolve? 1. More complexity in crisis, 2. Redefining incidents (small events growing to large-scale events), 3. Dealing with past Emergency Mgmt. and Crisis Mgmt. doctrine, 4. Catastrophes, 5. Communications, 6. Bringing BCM, Emergency Mgmt. and Crisis Mgmt. together, 7. Clarifying authorities (vs responsibilities), 8. A change in mindset...and much more! Kyle shares some great insights about BCM involvement in International Security and how the ERM and CM professions need - and must - evolve to address our changing times. Don't miss what Kyle has to share. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with experienced Business Continuity Management (BCM), Incident Management, and Emergency Response specialist, Jennifer Park, as we discuss why organizations and leadership downplay the importance of BCM along with what it can offer organizations. During our discussion we touch on: 1. Defining BCM and resilience (Jennifer's view), 2. Viewing BCM as a short-term initiative, 3. 'Chicken little' syndrome, 4. Periodic rebuilding of programs, 5. Create and show value, 6. AI has the answers, 7. RTO misunderstandings, 8. Aligning BCM with IT, 9. Not understanding impacts and dependencies (it's not just the number of people using an application!), 10. Decisions, 11. Prioritization and reprioritization, 12. Tips to improve BCM visibility...and much more! Jennifer share some great insights on why organization leadership may not fully understand the complexity and benefits of a good BCM program, while also offer suggestions on how to improve our own if we aren't getting the traction we want. Enjoy!

In today's environment organizations must become resilience, or they risk be passed over by potential partners, customers, and clients. Join me as I talk with a respected leader in the field of Organizational Resilience, Rick Cudworth. Rick will talk to us about Organizational Resilience, including how to establish a 'Resilience Mindset' and the knowledge of mindfulness, to help corporate leaders and their organizations, before and during, adverse situations. We'll learn about the Resilience Lifecycle (Design, Change, Adversity), as well as outlining the 3 key pillars of Organizational Resilience. Rick will also give us some tips on how organization's can help foster individual resilience, which aids in the development of organizational resilience. There's allot of great information for those interested in resilience, so don't miss it!

Join me as I talk with the Security Director for the Americas at World Travel Protection, Frank Harrison, as we talk about 'Travel Risk Management'. With global 'hot spots' cropping up in what seems to be on a daily basis, understanding the risks is vital for individuals and organizations. During our talk we touch on: 1. Defining Travel Risk Management, 2. 'Duty of care', 3. Fit for Location (this is quite interesting that people should pay attention to), 4. Communication when traveling, 5. Travel risk assessments, 6. Teams, 7. Monitoring of global situations, 8. The 'Niger' incident (Frank and team were saviors here), 9. Crisis Management, 10. Understanding your risk environment, 11. Training...and much, much more! Frank shares some great insights on travel risk management and shares quite a few experiences from his long career. In today's global environment where situations seem to change on a daily basis, you don't want to miss what Frank has to say about traveling (either for leisure or business). Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with resilience industry thought leader, Jason Hoss. We talk about learning from the past to empower future resilience. During our discussion we touch on: 1. Legal advice, 2. Don't waste an adverse situation (it's an opportunity!!), 3. No process is perfect, 4. Learning from missteps, 5. Training & exercising (a great learning experience), 6. Grow through adversity, 7. Test plans and processes - exercise people...and more! Jason and I share our thoughts and ideas on lessons learned to help build a more resilient future. Remember, if nothing changes you didn't learn anything...you just observed it. Enjoy! NOTE: This was another of our contributions to the 2024 BCI Business Continuity & Resilience Awareness Week!

Being a corporate business leader can be tough. Mishandled crises can devastate businesses, lives and livelihoods (Hemus, 2020) I talk with internationally recognized crisis leadership expert and author, Jonathan Hemus, as we talk about what good leaders need to understand, know, and react, when disasters and crises strike. We talk about: 1. The challenging risk landscape (health, economies...) 2. Securing executive buy-In 3. What organizations need have - and do - pre-crisis? 4. How to create a Crisis-Resilient Culture 5. The common flaws in crisis response 6. The golden rules for a successful crisis response 7. Michael McCain's response to the Maple Leaf food crisis, and more. It's an informative discussion about a serious subject, and yet very open and accessible to people that might not be fully versed on crisis leadership. We might even have a comment or two about Aston Villa. Enjoy!

Operational Resilience is a key area of focus of many organizations. I’m joined my seasoned security strategist and specialist Steve ‘Stitch’ Hindle, as we talk about Security & Operational Resilience in terms and perspectives different from the usual run-of-the-mill chatter. During our chat we touch on: 1. Disruptive events, 2. It’s OK to fail, 3. People empowerment, 4. Driven by the top, 5. Operational Resilience (Defined), 6. Bringing people together, 7. Experiencing resistance, 8. Feedback (it flows in both directions), 9. 3 Pillars of Cyber Security (People, Technology, Process), 10. Testing it all, 11. Embedded assumptions, 12. Using technology the right way, 13. Making lives better...and more. Don’t miss Steve’s take on these topics, as they will provide you and your organization some amazing insights into Security & Operational Resilience. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with resilience industry thought leader Jason Hoss, as we talk about employee engagement. During out discussion we touch upon: 1. The culture of an organization, 2. BIAs and BCPs, 3. People focus and involvement, 4. Process vs people resilience, 5. Testing and exercising, 6. 'Chaos Monkey', 7. Building confidence...and more! Jason and I share our thoughts and ideas tor building, maintaining, and increasing employee engagement to help establish resilience. Enjoy! NOTE: This was one of our contributions to the 2024 BCI Business Continuity & Resilience Awareness Week.

I'm joined by resilience industry thought leader, Jason Hoss, as we talk about Community Resilience. During our chat we touch on: 1. Micro Approach: individual, households, fire plans, social networks, local businesses, one's influence, insurance, self-risk assessments, and more, 2. Macro Approach: cities/towns, engaging stakeholders, inclusive plans, assumptions, and more. Jason and I share many thoughts on community resilience you don't want to miss. NOTE: This was one of our contributions to the 2024 BCI Business Continuity & Resilience Awareness Week.

Join me as I with with leading resilience and risk expert, Terry Lee. During today's discussion we touch on 3 key important topics: Operational Resilience, Vendor Risk Management, and Enterprise Risk Management. 1. Operational Risk ( Defining OpR, Leadership confidence, Risk as an opportunity, Who 'owns' OpR, Where OpR resides in an organization...and more!) 2. Vendor Risk Mgmt. (The difference between supply chain mgmt. and vendor risk mgmt., Regulatory standards, Vendor assessments, NDAs and obtaining necessary information, Testing with vendors...and more!) 3. Enterprise Risk Mgmt. (BCM and ERM, Changing Cultures, risk registry, Risk in motion, Model risks...and more!) Terry shares a wealth of great information and insights that all business leaders and contingency/resilience professionals can benefit from. Don't miss what Terry has to share. Enjoy!

I'm joined by recognized risk management, security, resilience expert, and author, Robert Hall, as we talk about his new book 'Building Resilient Futures'. It's a fascinating discussion where we touch on: 1. Resilience and technology, 2. People and resilience, 3. Facing adversity, 4. Societal engagement (This topic is well worth the listen), 5. Engaging communities, 6. Creating a 'spirit', 7. Focusing on consequences rather than causes, 8. Agility and adaptability, 9. Utilizing existing resources, 10. Fight, flight, or freeze...and much more. It's a very insightful discussion focusing on key concepts contained in Roberts' new book. It will give you a new way to think of resilience, and perhaps discover that the silver bullet we're all looking for with regards to resilience, is ourselves. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with renown Crisis Management, Business Continuity, and Resilience expert, Regina Phelps. We talk about the recent Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage that has - and continues to - cripple many organizations and institutions. During our chat we talk about: 1. The outage, 2. Timelines, 3. Who is to blame? 4. The impacts, 5. When is enough, enough? 6. Testing and complacency, 7. What do you do when you have nothing? 8. What's in the Business Continuity Plan? 9. Asking hard questions, 10. How do you deal with data loss? 11. Verifying data integrity...and more. Regina shares what we know about the CrowdStrike outage and some great questions we need to ask ourselves when we find our organizations impacted by such events. You don't want to miss Regina's insights. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with experienced Operational Resilience and Business Continuity professional, Yusuf Ukaye, as we talk on the topic of Starting a BCM Program from Scratch. During our discussion we talk about: 1. Asking the right questions (What are we protecting? and more), 2. Impacts of not doing what you do, 3. Feeling about risk, 4. Good governance, 5. RACI, 6. It's NOT a project, 7. Everyday BC usage, 8. Building roadmaps, 9. Articulating needs, 10. Standards and guidelines, 11. Stakeholders, 12. Soft Skills, 13. Escalate and communicate w/ leaders, 14. Looking for support, 15. Listen more, 16. Be aware of the human element, 17. Validating you're on the right track, 18. Understanding assumptions and dependencies, 19. Communications...and more! Yusuf provides lots of great insights for those new to the field to help them get started, but also some insights to those that might be wondering why their program isn't as effective as it could be. Don't miss what Yusuf has to share. Enjoy!