Preparing for the Unexpected

It's time for another chat with renown leading BCM industry expert, Regina Phelps. For our June 2022 chat we touch on: 1. The latest on Monkeypox, 2. Polio in London (Wasn’t this eradicated?!), 3. COVID Update (Vaccines, boosters, and where the world stands right now), 4. Continue our talk on planning and executing Ransomware Exercises (Injections, Virtual Exercises…), and much more! As always it’s an informative chat with Regina and there’s lots of you to take away. Enjoy!

If there's one thing organizations have learned throughout the COVID19 global pandemic, it's how fragile our supply chains are. I speak with longtime noted Business Continuity Management and Risk expert, and global award winning industry personality R. Vaidhyanathan (RV), about how to create resilience within our Supply Chains. We touch subject such as: a) Risks identification and management, b) Evaluating vendors and partners, c) Trends in Supply Chain Mgmt., d) Strategizing alternatives, e) Linking compliance and 3rd party arrangements, f) Contracts and regulatory obligations, and much, much more, Enjoy!

Business Continuity – is it strategic? That’s the question award-winning and globally recognized BCM industry professional, Luke Bird, asks in the recently published article “Is Business Continuity Really Becoming More Strategic”? Luke talks about the difference between strategic thinkers, and the traditional approach of being a ‘doer’. In this episode we talk about: a) Is Business Continuity becoming more strategic?, b) The difference between strategic and tactical thinking/acting, c) Strategic skills, d) A BCM voice at the boardroom table (Getting a voice heard, and how it usually ends up unfolding), e) Aligning activities to Leadership (Mission, Vision, Values), f) The BCI Global Report – The Future of Business Continuity (the report that started Luke’s Strategic’ line of thinking), and g) What BCM professionals can do to start thinking strategically. In the final segment, we touch on a subject important to Luke – Mental Health and Wellbeing. Luke inspires us to help bring this topic front and centre in the BCM/Resilience industry, as more and more professionals succumb to burnout and mental health challenges. He asks the question: ‘What do you do when the BCM/DR/Resilience professional can’t go on?” It’s an enjoyable discussion with a great colleague. Enjoy! Luke Bird Contact Information: resiliencerewire@gmail.com

Business Continuity and Risk Management must work closely together, like two people in a well-orchestrated dance; a 'paso doble'. I speak with Business Continuity and Risk Management expert Federica Maria Rita Livelli about how these two disciplines need to work in parallel to maintain synergy and unity. In this episode Federica discusses: 1. Defines the likeness between disciplines and how they assist each other 2. Discusses strategies and resources that link the two disciplines together 3. The importance of the Business Impact Analysis and the Risk Assessment 4. Understanding the business 5. The resilience that can be created between the two 6. A holistic and harmonized approach to BC and Risk Mgmt. 7. Tips for practitioners to foster an '...environment... based on shared risk...culture, values, trust and collaboration'...and much more! Enjoy!

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!

It's my monthly talk with author and entrepreneur, Regina Phelps. For our May 2022 discussion, we talk about: 1. Monkey Pox (What is it? What do we know, and what we don't know.), 2. COVID (An update from around the globe...and why things ain't look so good right now...), 3. Avian flu and increased animal contact, 4. Out continued talk about Cyber Exercises, and focusing on sustained technology outage / data loss and Regina's goal to make 'em cry. Another great chat with lots of information you can use in the office, especially if you're thinking of doing a cyber exercise. Enjoy!

Sometimes the size and scale of Business Continuity Management (BCM) can be intimidating - to people in our own industry and to those trying to understand the industry. I speak with noted expert and author of 'Business Continuity Management: A Practical Guide to Organizational Resilience and ISO 22301', James Crask, For this episode we talk about: 1. Defining resilience, 2, What can be learned from international standards (the benefits and the pitfalls), 3. Lessons for the BCM and resilience industries from COVID19, 4. Establishing governance in BCM and Resilience, 5. Writing plans and procedures (and what to do with the 'fluff'), and 6. Exercising our plans - and who should be involved. And much more! James helps bring clarify to many key BCM topics to enable any professional and organization thrive in their BCM and resilience programs. Enjoy!

Climate Change is one of - if not the most - important issue facing individuals, communities, organizations, and the world today. It's become a key component that many Business Continuity (BC) professionals must address; from the Risk Analysis (RA) to the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), to preparedness and response plans. I talk with noted industry expert Margaret Millett about what BC professionals can do to address Climate Change concerns in their organizations. We talk about: 1. Historical Information (cities, species...), 2. Risks and Impacts, 3. The challenge facing the BC profession and professional, 4. Considerations for organizations, 5. What opportunities exist for the BC industry/professional?, 6. Getting ahead of the Climate Change risk, 7. The Risk Analysis (RA) and Business Impact Analysis (BIA), 8. Policy and standards, 9. Company response (Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, Recovery), 10. Metrics, 11. Sharing information with Leadership and the Board of Directors...and more. It's an insightful discussion on how we as professionals, can address the challenges Climate Change posses us and our organizations. Enjoy!

Being a leader is hard. It's even harder during a crisis. I speak with psychologist and author, Gavin Freeman about leadership psychology as it pertains to crisis management. It's quite insightful and at times, surprising. We touch on: 1. The Ardent – Dreamworld Incident (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Outcome?), 2. The mind of the CEO – Upper Echelon of the CEO, 3. Regulatory Theory, 4. Promotional vs Preventative to Performance vs Preventative, 5. Behavioral Agency Theory, 6. Reputation Management, 8. Value = Insight + Tension (This is really interesting and worth a listen), and 9. What can leaders, professionals, and organizations do? It's a very interesting talk about psychology and crisis management, and Gavin does a great job of turning theory into something lite and understandable. It become clear quite quickly, that being a leader during a crisis is much more than following a plan. Enjoy!

It’s my regular chat with noted industry expert Regina Phelps. For this episode we talk about: 1. A quick COVID pandemic update (Vaccines and vaccine expectations, world statuses - China, US, Canada… - boosters, the mess some are findings themselves in, 2. Shanghai, China and the coming impacts on the supply chain, 3. The Ukraine War and its continued impacts, 4. Ransomware and Cyber Threats (What happens in a ransomware attack? 5. Designing a ransomware / cyber exercise (What a cyber exercise is – and what it isn’t, Ransomware design principles), 6. 10 critical elements that make a cyber exercise work (We only cover elements 1-4, but to hear elements 5-10, go to the Preparing for the Unexpected YouTube channel). Regina shares some key information on cyber/ransomware attacks and how we can prepare for them. Don’t miss her vital insights. Enjoy!