Preparing for the Unexpected

The COVID pandemic and daily life in general, has put a stress on everyone, regardless of their job title. CEOs and other leaders are no exception. I speak with the author of 'The Broken CEO: How to be the Leader You Always Wanted to Be', Chris Pearse. During our chat, Chris touches on: 1. Defines what a leader is...and isn't, 2. The difference between stress and strain, 3. How meditation helps everyone (even if only for 5min a day), 4. Rest - and what rest really means (It's more than what you might think), 5. What's wrong with the phrase ‘work-life balance’, 6. How can a leader can increase their Influence (no matter where you are in your organization), 7. Coaching (not telling), 8. CEOs supporting employees (inverting the hierarchal pyramid), and 9. Upside down Leadership. A great chat with allot of insights from Chris. You don't need to be a CEO to adapt allot of what Chris has to say. Listen in and let your inner leader loose. Enjoy!

This week I'm joined by internationally recognized security intelligence and crisis management professional, and author of 'Strategic Corporate Crisis Management: Buildings an Unconquerable Organization, Brendan Monahan. During our discussion, we touch on: 1. The Plan: expectations, decision-making, delivering value, establishing triggers, assumptions, dealing w/ difficult people, testing/exercising 2. The team: membership, roles/responsibilities, support, policy, characteristics of a well-functioning team, keeping the team going, the often forgotten procurement team, cross-training 3. Resilience: Addressing silos, finding common ground, resilience in crisis mgmt., making connections, and what resilience means to your own organization It's a great discussion with insights that all organization's and professionals will learn valuable insights they can take back to their own places of business and help build that strategic - and tactical - direction needed during crises. Enjoy!

All organization's strive to be more resilient as they move forward. They want resilient processes and operations but without resilient leaders and resilient employees, an organization will never get there. I talk with noted speaker, coach, instructor and consultant, Tammie Horton on how to create resilience within your teams. Tammie will describe the characteristics that can make a person more resilient, as well as describing how the brain functions in relation to resilient states of mind. COVID has put allot of stress on individuals, teams, and organizations, putting a strain on the well-being of many. Mental health and one's own well-being is key to creating a resilient mindset, workplace, and team. Full of insightful information, this chat with Tammie is not to be missed if you want your teams and team members to be more resilient.

I'm joined by longtime experienced Business Continuity, Analyst, Emergency Management, and IT professional, Carol Paasch. We talk about some of the key components that help create a successful Resilience Program. During our chat we touch on: 1. Executive sponsorship, 2. Steering Committees, 3. Role & Responsibilities...that work!, 4. Stopping the 'scenario planning', 5. Business Impact Assessments (for BU and IT), 6. The Risk Assessment, 7. Getting to know the Risk team, 8, Understanding Vendor Management, 9. System of Truth, 10. Testing & Exercising, 11. The thud factor, 12. Understanding what's in it for them, 13. Software is a tool, not the answer...and much more. Carol's extensive hand's on experience is something you don't want to miss if you want to make you resilience program a success. It's logical and ground-roots common sense insight you don't want to miss. Enjoy!

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 the founder and principal of Raymond-Cox Consulting, Fiona Raymond-Cox, as we talk about Cyber table top exercises. We touch on: 1. The evolution of tabletop exercises and how things have changed over the years (and why!), 2. Tabletop exercising with the Crisis Management Team (CMT) and why it's important, 3. Functional exercises and how they take tabletops to the next level...and more! Don't miss the insights Fiona has to share, as it will certainly help your Operational Resilience / Business Continuity programs. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with Trauma Informed Conflict Management Consultant, Treena Reilkoff. We have a very insightful discussion on three key areas that are impacting people and workplaces: 1. School violence, 2. Work related suicide (and an actual case from Australia where a business was found at fault for contributing to a suicide), 3. Psychological Health & Safety Environments (which ties everything together). Treena share some really good advice and guidance for people - both at the general employee level and at the management/leadership level - on what to look for an how to prevent incidents from occurring. It's an episode you don't want to miss if you want safer workplaces for all. 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!