Preparing for the Unexpected
ALEX FULLICK, MBCI,CBCP,CBRA,ITIL,CORS,cABCF,ISO22301,Author
Preparing for the Unexpected is about how people, organizations and communities plan, prepare, test, communicate and respond to sudden unplanned events such as natural and manmade disasters and crises. The show is for everyone who wants an understanding of how plans are created for individuals, organizations and communities and for anyone who wants to know what they can do in their own lives to help protect themselves from unexpected events.
There is a myth that disasters happen to others but in reality, they happen to everyone. It's just a matter of when and how well-prepared you are. The greater the level of awareness, communication and knowledge, the quicker one bounces back from adversity.
The overall aim of Preparing for the Unexpected is to reduce the suffering, effects and impacts caused as a result of disasters and unexpected life events by increasing knowledge and awareness of Operational Resilience, Business Contingency, Disaster Planning, Crisis Management, and related activities.
There is a myth that disasters happen to others but in reality, they happen to everyone. It's just a matter of when and how well-prepared you are. The greater the level of awareness, communication and knowledge, the quicker one bounces back from adversity.
The overall aim of Preparing for the Unexpected is to reduce the suffering, effects and impacts caused as a result of disasters and unexpected life events by increasing knowledge and awareness of Operational Resilience, Business Contingency, Disaster Planning, Crisis Management, and related activities.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 6, 2018 • 55min
Seasonal Celebration Safety Tips
December and part of January hold many significant celebration periods and times for individuals to take some sort of holiday. Regardless of religious or spiritual beliefs, these two months have multiple celebrations around the globe - and sometimes people aren't prepared for the possibility of there being a disaster or crisis situation. This show will focus on some key areas for people to consider during these celebration periods. We'll look at safety tips for such things as: food safety, driving safety, winter concerns, heat exhaustion concerns and even concerns related to celebration decorations. Tune in to make sure your celebrations are safe and you're prepared for anything unexpected
Nov 29, 2018 • 58min
TIEMS: Manila, Philippines, Conference Summary
The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) held its 25th Anniversary Global Conference in Manila, Philippines, November 13-16, 2018. This episode will provide a conference summary of some of the great speakers and presentations represented; from thoughtful and insightful presentations to some of the detailed research oriented sessions. It was a successful conference and listen in to find out why.
Nov 22, 2018 • 56min
Live From Disaster Recovery Journey Conference 2018
Join Host of Preparing for the Unexpected, Alex Fullick as he broadcast live from DRJ 2018 in Phoenix Arizona. Disaster Recovery Journal sponsors two annual conferences that began in September of 1989. The first conference drew a crowd of almost 250 disaster recovery professionals. Today, both conferences combined pull in more than 3,000 disaster recovery professionals from all over the world, which makes our conferences the largest in the entire industry. DRJ has an exciting array of events available throughout the year. Participation in any or all is a great way to boost your industry knowledge and expand your networking circle. The opportunities include annual conferences, webinars and podcasts. The conferences are held twice each year. The spring show is in Orlando, Florida; the fall show is in Phoenix, Arizona. The webinars are held monthly and may be viewed live or recorded for later use. The podcasts offer a chance to hear sessions from previous conferences.
Nov 15, 2018 • 55min
Evolving Global Threats and Corporate Resilience
Continuing with our series of speakers from the Continuity & Resilience Today conference in Toronto (May 2018), we speak with Paul Doucet who is the Regional Security Manager, Security Solutions, for the Asia Pacific region for Joint Venture International SOS and Control Risks. Paul with discuss the current global terrorism threats and the plans and communications required when escalating situations occur. He will also provide some best practices based on experience tht organizations and business travelers can leverage to help mitigate issues when finding themselves in threatening situations.
Nov 8, 2018 • 56min
BCM and Lessons Learned from a Historical Perspective
As part of a well-functioning BCM/DR program, we should be learning from our mistakes and ensuring we can adapt and learn from the events of the past. For most, the assumption is we will learn from only our mistakes and not the mistakes of others or the past. We speak with business expert and author John Vespasian who will provide us insights on business continuity and how history can teach us about planning and lessons learned to improve our BCM/DR thinking and efforts. We'll talk about that by not validating conditions caused problems for Berblinger; how some groups were able to survive the Black Death; how Ancient Greece was able to survive using good planning over the mighty Persian Empire and even how risk assessments ensured the survival of an Antarctic expedition. It's quite an enlightening and eye-opening episode chock full of interesting perspectives.
Oct 25, 2018 • 56min
Disaster Recovery Journal - DRJ - Fall 2018: A Conference Summary
This episode will be a recap and summary of the recent Disaster Recovery Journal (DRJ) in Phoenix, Arizona from September 23 - 26/18. Preparing for the Unexpected aired LIVE on September 24th but that wasn't the only highlight of the conference. We'll review some of the sessions presented and provide a recap of some of the guests that stopped by during the LIVE broadcast and gave us some quick insights into their session presentations and/or what their company offered by way of products and services. Tune in and get an understanding of why DRJ is one of the premier conferences to attend in the resilience, business continuity, crisis management and disaster planning realm.
Oct 18, 2018 • 57min
Crisis Communications in Canada
We see many Crisis Management examples every day in the headlines of major news outlets, either on the internet or in print. Quite often the examples referenced in major news outlets don't cover examples - both goo and bad - from other areas for the globe. In this episode we talk with Prof Duncan Koerber, author of 'Crisis Communications in Canada' and get some different perspectives and examples not usually covered by the big global news outlets. We'll talk about the role of ethics in communications and the benefits of apologizing verses blaming. We'll hear about different examples that you may not have heard about on the news with a distinctly Canadian perspective. You're sure to hear lots of good information and insights on how to better improve your own crisis communication strategies and plans.
Oct 11, 2018 • 56min
Be More Resilient by Using Your BCP for Smaller Incidents
We continue with our speaker series from the Continuity & Resilience Today conference (Toronto, May 2018) as we chat with award winning BCM specialist, Marie-Helene Primeau. We talk about how using your Business Continuity Plans (BCP) for smaller incidents and interruptions increases the resilience of your organization and the Return on Investment (ROI). By invoking plan components, teams work more efficiently and gain confidence and skills when future incidents occur. During the show, Marie-Hélène will share real-life case studies and discuss how prioritizing and collaborating during smaller incidents improves the overall Business Continuity Management (BCM) program.
Oct 4, 2018 • 56min
Crisis Management Leaders: From Thought to Consquence
What makes a good crisis leader? How is it that they prepare and respond to situations differently? How do successful crisis leaders think and feel? It's not easy being an organization's Crisis Management Team Leader while probably having responsibility for Business As Usual tasks. It's this buy schedule and the management of it, that sets the good crisis leader apart from those not so easily prepared for the task. Successful crisis leaders think, prepare and act differently from other crisis leaders. Their inner being leaves them better able to prepare for - and respond to, crises and disasters where their leadership abilities become front and centre during stressful periods. From 'Thought to Consequence' looks at the ways in which successful crisis leaders think about BC and DR and how they respond to serious incidents, which ultimately strengthens and organization's ability to prepare and respond to disasters.
Sep 27, 2018 • 57min
Business Continuity Planning: A Project Management Approach
Managing Business Continuity - Disaster Recovery programs can be a challenge, especially if a BC-DR practitioner doesn't have the right skills to juggle various program components and priorities. We will talk with BC-DR industry experts and project management professionals Ralph Kliem and Gregg Ritchie - the authors of 'Business Continuity Planning: A Project Management Approach'. Ralph and Gregg will provide allot of insight on how to manage and maintain our BC-DR programs to ensure Senior Management support, buy-in and their continued support. We'll also talk about how we can improve our programs as we slowly build the required plans and processes, ensuring along the way we're adhering to governance protocols and the benefits that governance guidelines offer. If you're having issues with you BC-DR program or just want to improve your programs status, listen in to hear tips and tricks on how to get your program back on track.
