Episode 96 - Stop Calling it Operational Resilience with Terry Downing
Aug 7, 2023
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In this episode, Terry Downing challenges the concept of operational resilience, emphasizing the need for qualified leadership. He discusses the repercussions of unpreparedness, including limitless fines. The discussion shifts to business resilience, highlighting the importance of understanding the business at the sea level. It also delves into the nuances of harm in consumer services and the need for organizations to navigate thresholds in operational resilience.
Shift terminology to business resilience for a holistic approach.
Ensure qualified leadership, understanding service focus for operational resilience.
Deep dives
Importance of Transitioning from Operational Resilience to Business Resilience
The podcast episode emphasizes the need to shift terminologies from operational resilience to business resilience. The guest, Terry Downing, highlights that operational resilience can be misleading as it focuses on operations alone, leading to a misinterpretation of its true essence. Emphasizing 'qualified' leadership at all levels, including the board, is crucial for understanding business resilience. The importance lies in grasping the core of the business beyond technical aspects and regulations.
Challenges in Understanding Operational Resilience at Different Organizational Levels
Terry Downing discusses how the concept of operational resilience faces challenges in being comprehended, particularly at the C-suite level. The industry lacks a clear path to educate leaders on operational resilience, with MBA courses often overlooking this critical aspect. Misunderstandings stem from various interpretations of regulatory papers and a lack of explicit guidance on the service-oriented focus needed for operational resilience.
Differentiating Harm and Intolerable Harm to Ensure Business Resilience
Terry Downing clarifies the distinction between harm and intolerable harm based on the FCA guidance, emphasizing the consumer's perspective on service impact tolerance. Preventing intolerable harm is the key focus for organizations under regulatory scrutiny, requiring the demonstration of active planning, risk identification, and mitigation. Operational resilience aims to ensure service delivery integrity, holding accountable those responsible for maintaining service standards amidst evolving market demands.
I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to listen to is another boring debate about operational resilience and how it differs from business continuity. This week’s guest talks about op res – but he tells me that the term doesn’t mean what it says.
Hello everyone and welcome to episode 96 of the Resilient Journey podcast presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week I’m joined by long time resilience professional Terry Downing.
Terry and I talk about why it’s time for a change – in terminology and approach when we think about operational resilience. He tells me why it’s time to have truly qualified individuals in charge – all the up to the Board level. And he really emphasizes the word “qualified”. We’ll talk about important business services, intolerable harm and limitless fines for those who aren’t prepared.
The Resilient Journey podcast is a Resilience Think Tank production.
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