Preparing for the Unexpected

On November 16 and 17, 2022, James Green and I co-hosted a live broadcast from the Continuity & Resilience Today (CRT) conference in Toronto. We were fortunate enough to interview a few guests and for this episode you can hear the conversation we had with Caoimhe Culleton and Regina Phelps. Lots of great information about COVID, business continuity, resilience testing, Lessons Learned (from Ireland), and hear how Regina likes to 'make 'em cry' when testing. You'll have to listen in to know that means - and it'll get you thinking about your security and/ore business continuity programs.

Many organizations face challenges when it comes to applying creating emotional resilience for crisis situations. I speak with a founding member of the UK Psychological Trauma Society, internationally published author, Dr. Liz Royle. Dr. Royle talks to us about: 1. People before 'the plan', 2. People and trauma, 3. Fears, 4. The 3 R's (Resistance, Resilience, Recovery), 5. Crisis Team membership, 6. 'The Ripple Effect', 7. Areas of Risk...and lots more. Dr Royle provides allot of insight into how we can create emotional resilience by creating and utilizing some innovative human recovery processes during crisis situations. Some may believe having a disaster response plan is enough, but there's a human aspect that doesn't seem to get enough attention. Dr. Royle sheds light on what's missing and how we can address it. Enjoy!

Handling communications during a crisis can be a challenge for most organizations. I'm joined by internationally recognized risk and crisis communications professional, Sheena Thomson. During our talk we touch on: 1. Identifying and defining a stakeholder, 2. Stakeholder management, 3. Preparing communications, 4. Using legal in communication, 5. Winning (or loosing) the social media war, 6. The spokesperson, 7. Do's and don'ts of communications, 8. Messaging (and staying on that message), and 9. Crisis communication tips. Sheena provides some great insights on how to develop, implement, and manage a successful crisis communications strategy - prior to a crisis and during a crisis. Don't miss what Sheena has to share. Enjoy!

During a crisis the media can be your friend or foe, and it comes down to your own actions that will determine which part media will play. I'm joined by established crisis management and crisis communications subject matter expert, Mark Harris. During Mark's talk, we touch on: 1. Defining media (it's more than it used to be...), 2. The spokesperson (who's good, bad, and who should be waiting in the wings), 3. Training, 4. Messaging, 5. How to get the media on your side, 6. How not to communicate with media, 8. Building a relationship with media, 7. Some key tips on dealing with the media...and much more. Mark gives some great insights on how to deal with the media to keep them on your side during times of crisis, when you need all the friends you can get during those challenging moments. Don't miss the great information Mark shares. Enjoy!

It's another episode to touch base with Regina Phelps about the latest on 'What's Next?' after the COVID pandemic. Regina touches on: 1. 5 Individual Changes (The decline of trust, Political divisions, and more...), 2. 5 Global Societal Changes (Food insecurity, Financial hardships, and more...), 3. The Future of Work, 4. Artificial Intelligence considerations for Continuity professionals...and more. This is a very insightful episode you don't want to miss. It may help you understand some of the challenges you, your organization, and/or your community if facing. Enjoy!

We plan for various crises and disasters, making plans to prepare and respond to such things as terrorism, but what we often forget are those that have been impacted terrorism. In the most personally gripping and heartfelt episode I've ever done, I'm joined by terrorism survivor and victim advocate, Ann Travers. Ann talks about her experiences of growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and how it impacted - and still impacts - her today. 1. Defining terrorism, living in fear, The Troubles; ; 2. Ann's personal story of terrorism, the hurt, survival and lingering impacts; 3. Ann's Law, victim's rights, re-traumatization, and support. It's an episode that raises the question of why we prepare and respond to disasters, but we seem to fall short when it comes to caring for those living with the impacts of terrorism...or any disaster. Don't miss this episode! If you are a survivor of terrorism and want to talk to someone, you can find help at www.seff.org.uk Don't suffer alone!

Virtual or remote working is here to stay, whether anyone likes it or not. In many cases management and employees are seeing the situation from differing perspective, and not really talking about it with each other in a constructive meaningful manner. I talk with recognized risk management and business continuity expert, Andrew Ziegler, as we talk about the fear, the loathing, and confusion over working in - and with - the virtual office. Andrew touches on: 1. A LinkedIn poll he started that provided some surprising results, 2. Why leadership pushes to have people back in the office, 3. Why employees being hesitant and reluctant to head back to the office, 4. The misconceptions about productivity are wrong, 5. Addressing fear (real and perceived), 6, Empathy, and collaboration...and more. Don't miss this timely discussion with Andrew, as he provides some timely insights into the challenges of dealing with a virtual office - the new 'normal'. Enjoy!

As a result of COVID, there is allot more talk and interactions between teams - internally and externally - with regards to Business Continuity, Disaster Planning, and the like. But what doesn't seem to be talked about very much, if at all, is the customer experience, I speak with long-time BCM and customer experience specialist, Charlein Barni, about BCM and the customer experience. We talk about: 1. Defining what 'customer experience' means, 2. Defining exactly who is a customer (more than you might think), 3. Internal and external organizational views and interactions, 4. What org's sometime get wrong about the customer experience, 5. How important organizational culture is to the customer experience, 6. When an experience ends..., 7. Measuring engagement with customer experiences and how engagement is often misinterpreted, 8. The BCM lifecycle and what it contains, 9. The most important part of the BCM lifecycle when it comes to the customer experience, 10. Measuring customer experiences...and much, much more. It's obvious Charlein is passionate about BCM and the customer experience. Don't miss her insights as she talks about a topic not often broached in BCM. Enjoy!

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a major topic amongst organizations and their leadership, but do they have an understanding of Supply Chain Security (SCS)? I talk with Supply Chain Security expert Andrew Owlett who provides some great insights into SCS. We talk about: 1. Defining Supply Chain Security vs Supply Chain Management, 2. Why the security of supply chains is important, 3. The security of physical and cyber suppliers and partners, 4. Ownership and the many parties that need to be involved, 5. Creating and validating 'controls' (mitigating activities), and the challenges that can be encountered, 6. Assessing vendor capabilities and building good relationships with them...and much more. Andrew sheds allot of light on an important topic. If you have concerns about your supply chain management and security, you don't want to miss Andrew's insights. Enjoy!

Some might believe that banking and Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS) would be the same around the globe. Though parts of that might be true, other aspects, perspectives, and methodologies aren't always the same. I'm joined by award winning BCM expert Khaled Altawily, who talks about BCM in the banking sector of Saudi Arabia. During the episode, we talk about: 1. Risk tools in Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS), 2. Risk scales and terminology, 3. Risk and risk Controls, 4. Internal and external partners, 5. The overlap between BCM and various control functions, 6. The maturity of BCMS in the Saudi Arabian banking sector, 7. The challenges with BCM post-COVID19 (Thought on the other side of the world, you'll find that many of the challenges sound familiar.)...and more. Khaled does a great job of shining the light on the banking sector in Saudi Arabia, and how it has implemented a successful BCM methodology, especially when he talks about the maturity levels set for the sector. Don't miss Khaled's insights. Enjoy!