Preparing for the Unexpected

Resiliency; a term very misunderstood and communicated in the BCM/DR industry. Some believe it's a product you buy off a shelf while others think they can hire someone to come in for a short time and suddenly their organizations become resilient. But that's not the case. Resiliency is much deeper than that. This week's guest, Ken Simpson, a driving and pioneering expert on what resiliency really is, will discuss the topic in detail to help remove the misguided beliefs held by many BCM/DR professionals and by corporate leaders. We'll talk about Lessons Observed, rather than Lessons Learned, Black Swans and defining resiliency in its clearest terms.

In this week's episode we talk about one of the most critical aspects of any Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery program - communications! Communication is highly misunderstood and many individuals, organizations and communities don't quite get it right; from idea inception to planning to execution. When communications are managed exceptionally well, amazing things can result but when communications are mismanaged or not managed at all, it can have dire consequences. We'll talk to Communications expert Janine Sakatch, who'll help us understand what communications and communications management really is. We'll hear tips to help us improve our own communications; why some might be working and why some aren't; determining the best delivery channel for communications and how we can improve the communication processes we utilize during times of disaster.

In this episode of Preparing for the Unexpected, we will talk with long-time BCM and Information Security expert, Alvaro Orrantia. We'll be discussing BCM / DR programs at the overview level and touch on some key concepts with some interesting perspectives and insight. We'll touch on key topics such as; a) distinguishing Business need with IT capabilities, b) Validation/testing and test governance, c) program maintenance, d) customer/client/employee expectations, d) customer/supplier involvement, e) ideas on how to keep BCP / IT DRP plan current using existing company processes and disaster program processes, and e) lessons learned from a few real-world disasters. Join us as we touch base on many key BCM/DR program components.

Quite often BCM/DR professionals will find their efforts fall off the rails and their disaster and business continuity programs aren't running as smoothly as they'd expected. That's because they may not be are of some key aspects that help manage their efforts; Project Management. This weeks show will provide some key tips and ideas from Project Management expert, S. Rosalind Baker. Sue will provide some great insights on how we can better manage our projects regardless of size or industry. We'll cover such topics as; Risk and Issue Management (they aren't the same thing), Stakeholder Management, GANTT charts and scheduling and various project logs. Listen in and get some great ideas to step up your game and make your BCM / DR program the best it can be; from initiation to execution to on going maintenance.

This episode will focus on Emergency and Disaster Management, and how academia and certification and the training of individuals helps with the development and execution of appropriate disaster plans. We will also touch base on The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) and how it's mission, goals and objectives are being delivered to ensure standardization and certification in Emergency and Disaster Management.