Preparing for the Unexpected

The corporate world is changing...and changing fast. It's not just the organization and business that's changing, it's also the behavior of people, and the challenges that come with leading people. I talk with the author of 'Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and other Difficult People', Alan Willett. We talk about: 1. Leadership pressures and challenges, 2. Measuring successful leadership (outside of the usual 'bottom line'), 3. Why leaders need to 'Stop Whining', 4. Keeping commitments, 5. Developing a 'radar for trouble', 6. Spotting potential difficult situations and what to do about them, 7. Becoming an exceptional leader, 8. The Need for Mountains, 9. Creating goals and communicating them, 10. Accepting that sometimes you need to 'restart', It's clear listening to Alan that he is passionate about leadership - it shows! Listen in to Alan's insights and become a stronger leader - able to lead the unleadable. Enjoy!

Change Management can be a major factor in determining risk mitigation factors and projects & program management activities. I talk with Business Continuity, Change Management, and Risk Management expert, and Change Management for Risk Professional author, Dr. James Leflar. In our talk we discuss: 1. Why Change Mgmt. should be important to Risk Professionals, 2. Defining a change agent", 3. The types of 'change' we should be aware of, 4. Change drivers, 5. Define Organization Resilience Management (ORM), 6. Personal change management, and why it's important, 7. Change Management vs. Project Management, 8. Recommendations for dealing with change denial and resistance, 9. How risk can be a positive and negative, and 10. Communicating change. James provides lots of insights on Change Management, and how if we don't get it right, we run a great risk of having our projects / change initiatives failing...badly. Enjoy!

The pandemic isn't over. Now it's time to talk about the current 'tri-demic' the globe is experiencing and what that means for society. History always repeats. It's time to talk with Regina Phelps about the current state of affairs with regards to RSV, COVID, the Flue and the societal disruptions and impacts we're currently experiencing. We touch on: 1. What is a 'tri-demic'? 2. More new variants!! 3. What's happening around the world (and I give an update on what's happening in Canada), 4. The return of measles? Really? 4. The Long Tail of COVID - Societal Disruptions. It's another fact-filled chat with Regina, as we talk about where we are with COVID...and where things are heading. History always repeats. Don't miss what Regina has to say. Enjoy!

With temperatures rising and the risk of disasters growing, our world is increasingly vulnerable. Most people see disasters as freak, natural events that are unpredictable and unpreventable. But that simply isn’t the case – disasters are avoidable, but when they do strike, there are strategic ways to manage the fallout. (From book cover)

I talk to author and disaster researcher, Dr. Samantha Montano, who'll will talk about her first book - Disasterology - as she explains why we aren’t doing enough to prevent or prepare for disasters and how our approach to recovery needs to change.

It's timely narrative that draws on Dr. Montano's first-hand experience in emergency management, and it's an episode you don't want to miss.

Times have changed, and organizational leadership must deal with new challenges of mental health, employee wellbeing (as well as their own), while acknowledging that executive training to prepare executives to lead during such difficult times, is severely lacking. I talk with noted psychologist Gavin Freeman in a 2 part episode. In the part 1 we talk about mental health and wellbeing, and in part 2 we touch on the lack of preparation and training for corporate leaders during times of crisis. PART 1: Wellbeing and Mental Health a. Working at home challenges for organizations, b. Us vs Them mentality, c. Employee mental health, d. How mental health and wellbeing are linked, e. Introverts and extroverts, f. Technology implications, g. Different ways to engage people, and h. Helping colleagues and friends in need). PART 2: The Lack of Training of the C-Suite a. Executives and business as usual, b. Strategic thinking over crisis management thinking, c. Crisis defined, d. Measuring success, e. Continued exercising, f. Motivations, g. Changing how we train people, h. Procedural & purposeful training, and i. Deliberate & direct training. Gavin gives allot of great insights everyone - every leader - needs to be aware of with regards to employee health and wellbeing. He also provides so ideas on how we can change and improve the methods of training for executives, to help them respond better to crises, and what we need to change to accomplish that. Don't miss Gavin's insights. Enjoy!

The workplace and Business Continuity will never be the same after the COVID19 global pandemic. I speak with internationally recognized BCM expert Chris Miller, about what the workplace and Business Continuity might be like in a post-COVID world. During our chat we touch on: 1. How individuals (employees) have changed, 2. How management and corporate leadership have changed, 3. How organizations have changed and had to adapt to a new way of operating, 4. The challenges faced by Security teams and processes, 5. How BCM was ignored or forgotten during the outset of COVID, 6. How Org Leaders let down BCM professionals, 7. O.I.L. methodology, 8. BCM becoming strategic and tactical rather than operational, 9. Supply Chain Management, and 10. Emerging trends...and more. It's a very lively discussion with lots of great information from Chris, who obviously has lots to share about where the workplace and BCM may be heading in the future. Don't miss Chris' insights. Enjoy!

Political Risk and Supply Chain Management are two important topics in today's world. I talk with the founder of LeanPM LLC and author of "Political Risk Management and the Global Supply Chain", Ralph Kliem. In our talk we touch on: 1. Defining Political Risk, 2. Political risk drivers, 3. Key components of managing political risk, 4. The risk register and what information it should contain, 5. The skills and knowledge required to manage political risk, 6. Risk reporting and audit, 7. The Political Risk Management Plan, 8. Political biases in political risks, 9. Monitoring the supply chain and maintaining the risk register, 10. Risk triggers, 11. Identify political risks that can impact you supply chain. Ralph offers allot of great insights into political risk, and by understanding and monitoring political risk, you can help manage your supply chain. A great discussion you won't want to miss. Enjoy!

It's time for the October 2022 update with Regina Phelps, as we talk about the outlook for families, communities, and organizations, with COVID and subvariants beginning to grey to horizons. We touch on: 1. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) impacting the old...and young kids (transmission, symptoms, protection...), 2, Avian Influenza (Yes, it's back...and never really went away), 3. Human Influenza (and the potential for a 'twindemic', 4. Vaccinations and boosters (and how they can help), 5. Subvariants (there are quite a few new ones...), 6. Winder is coming (flus and colds). Another informative discussion with Regina, as she explains what we need to watch out for and protect ourselves, families, and communities. Here are a few of the links Regina references if you want more information: a) https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm , b) https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions , c) https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance.

Due to the COVID10 global pandemic, Crisis Management and Crisis Leadership have have changed, but become more important than ever. I speak with recognized Crisis Leadership expert Oliver S. Schmidt, as we talk about: 1. Defining a crisis, and the difference to a disaster, 2. The 3 phases of Crisis Management, 3. Partnerships that help 'Contain & Control' a crisis, 4. Ongoing Lessons Learned and Evaluation, 5. How did COVID changed Crisis Mgmt. and Leadership, 6. The functional areas that need to work together during a crisis, 7. Performing Impact Assessments, 8. Employees and COVID Impacts, 9. The Key Message Triangle and Communications, 10. Decision-Making. It's clear that Oliver is very passionate about Crisis Leadership and Management, and it comes across during our discussion. Don't miss his great insights. Enjoy!

The success of Business Continuity, Risk Management, and Crisis Management, can be aided in part by having strong Supply Chain Management practices. I speak with Supply Chain and Business Continuity expert Kush Srivastava. We talk about: 1. Domains and Common Elements, 2. The opportunities to leverage from the various domains, 3. The congruence analyzed, 4. The rolling impact of Supply Chain Management, 5. How SCRM aids in better BCPs, Crisis Mgmt., and Response & Recovery, 6. Mapping the Supply Chain, 7. Becoming a preferred customer, 8. De-clustering, 9. Flexibility in the Supply Chain. It's an interesting discussion that helps us understand how these four areas can work together to contribute to resilience, and realize that Supply Chain Management can be a silent lifeline for the success of each program. Enjoy!