Category: Business Continuity Management

A Framework for Competitive Intelligence

Between 2008 and 2018, health care will generate more jobs than any other industry (approximately 3.2 million), primarily as a result of the aging population; healthcare occupations are also among the fastest growing with over 50% new occupations being in health care.[1] The question is, will one Colorado hospital be in business to participate in [...]

Monday July 19th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Organizational Resilience, Risk Management | Comments Off

Top 5 Financial Risk Impacts

Financial risk is ubiquitous across all businesses, some more than others. By definition, the financial sector experiences risk as a part of its routine operational mission. However, all businesses even those not in the financial sector may incur financial risk as a result of business interruptions. My guess at the top five (5) most critical [...]

Monday July 19th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Risk Management | Comments Off

Silo Oranizations and Risk

Silos are basically large vertical buildings that separate and store material on a farm. When referring to  organizations, a silo means that one department is not necessarily considering how their function impacts another within the same company. The larger the organization typically the more silos. Within a company, even a small company, silos can be [...]

Thursday July 15th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Organizational Resilience, Risk Management | Comments Off

Almost ate the e.Coli – Company Brand Risk

I don’t watch TV or the regular news channels. Occasionally, I will catch up with Meet the Press on Sundays, a USA Today on the plane, or a quick internet browse of current events. Last week I took a package of frozen organic buffalo from the freezer to thaw for evening dinner. Got on the [...]

Wednesday July 14th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Risk Management | Comments Off

Social Media for Business Continuity

I believe today’s social media is only the beginning of more intricate and unimaginable methods of communicating. For now, as many point out, there is a generational disconnect between those who use it and like and those who don’t. The question may also go beyond that point. I’m not familiar with many Business Continuity managers [...]

Monday July 5th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Tools, Templates, Software | Comments Off

Succession Planning Plays a Role in Business Continuity

When we think of the topic of risk management we may not immediately think of succession planning. I believe the two topics do go together. Unfortunately, in my experience, risk and managing a crisis are rarely part of a leadership curriculum. Succession planning is a strategy to prepare today’s employees and managers to be tomorrow’s [...]

Sunday June 27th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Organizational Resilience, Risk Management, Training and Exercises | Comments Off

SWOT for Utilities Sector

Well the first thing I noticed when performing an online search for information about utility company SWOT analysis is that the vast majority of information is about the stability of the companies for investing and from a financial perspective. While that can be interesting, I am looking more for the infrastructure capability issues. There is [...]

Tuesday June 22nd, 2010 in Business Continuity Management, Continuity of Operations Plan - COOP, Risk Management | Comments Off

Use of Social Media During Crisis Notification

With an aging population and boomers leaving the workforce, some planners may begin to think of new ways of reaching employees, students, and citizens during a crisis. In the past, phone calls, company bulletins, loudspeakers, and the news media were the primary forms of information dissemination. Today, that may still be the case for millions [...]

Wednesday January 13th, 2010 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Leadership Before, During and After a Disaster

The cultural attitude of any organization can often be attributed to its leadership. Many would agree that during times of crisis, solid, clear and decisive leadership can make the difference between a successful and not so successful outcome. [1] I believe there to be a direct correlation between cultural attitude of proactive readiness and how [...]

Tuesday December 29th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Emergency Management | Comments Off

Health and Welfare of the People During Disasters

Introduction A sometimes overlooked aspect of building a successful business continuity program is the impact of disaster on people’s thoughts and emotions. Whether an actual disaster, major disruption, or emergency occurs, or whether we are simply making plans for how to recover from a crisis, the welfare of the people should be a prime concern. [...]

Saturday November 14th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Training and Exercises | Comments Off

Testing the IT Function for Resilience

Information Technology experts are worth their weight in gold. This is especially true when we rely on a  Systems Administrator to keep our network running smoothly, our data center operational, and our information protected. I believe we should go out of our way to include the sys-admin, as they are commonly called, in our business [...]

Monday November 9th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Training and Exercises | Comments Off

A Plan is Not a Plan Until It’s Tested

A business continuity plan, like many plans, is not complete until the testing has been accomplished. By this stage of the business continuity program, the ‘welcome’ of the BC professional may be worn out. There will certainly be obstacles to planning for and implementing testing. Nevertheless, testing is an important part of the timeline and [...]

Monday November 9th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Training and Exercises | Comments Off

Eustress vs Distress During Disasters

Disasters, major disruptions, and even training exercises can bring about chaos to a group and to individuals. Individuals will each react in different ways to these very challenging and stressful events. The business continuity manager is wise to consider both the eustress [1] and distress which results when people are exposed to crisis whether they [...]

Monday November 9th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Training and Exercises | Comments Off

Influencing: Managing Without Authority

Like many programs, the success of an organization’s Business Continuity-BC program may ultimately depend on the ability of the continuity manager or program lead to convince others of its value. Power of position alone is rarely a long-term helpful ingredient, rather, I’ve found influence can be extremely useful. The Good Practices Guidelines (based on the [...]

Monday November 9th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Less Lone Champions, More Defiant Heroes

There is a hero in every disaster. I’m actually OK with the existence of these heroes. I think there are probably three types of heroes- those individuals who: Act as lone champions, despite the existence of a viable planned process; who go around the system and do things their way (in emergency rescue we call [...]

Tuesday October 27th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

More Benefits Than Meet the Eye

Organizations can reap benefits from Business Continuity programs that go beyond the program itself. However, I believe that the actual BC program is, in and of itself, an extremely valuable service to any organization. Now for the blasphemy. Business Continuity, like any discipline, has its share of  ‘full of itself’.  I mean that in an [...]

Tuesday October 27th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

What Value to Combine Continuity Plans?

There are a number of important plans that ensure business continuity is successful. Is there any point in combing all of the plans within the business continuity discipline? I think not. The full breadth of business continuity plans are considered to typically [1] include: Crisis Management Plan Emergency Response Plan Business Continuity Plans Functional Restoration [...]

Monday October 19th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Reciprocal Agreements

Reciprocal agreements can be defined by as “An agreement by two parties, each allowing the other to use their site, resources, or facilities during a disaster”[Burtles 1]. There are many similar definitions [2] which all focus on ‘sharing’ during times of disruption. There seems to be quite a bit of disagreement about the merits of [...]

Sunday October 11th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Ideas on How to Collect Data for a BIA

How best to collect data input to a Business Impact Analysis-BIA [1] in a hospital setting? There are a number of methods to obtain the necessary perspectives and information which create the foundations of the BIA. These methods are common to any data gathering exercise and may include interviewing, questionnaires, and workshops. [2] In an [...]

Tuesday September 29th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Business Impact Analysis: Resolving Discrepancies

How do we handle getting different answers from different people about the same disruption periods or effects of loss when conducting a major analysis task in business continuity? ‘Prevention is the best medicine’, is a common phrase typically associated with the medical field. The best way to handle discrepancies and validate data is to educate [...]

Tuesday September 29th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Does a BC Plan ‘Protect’ the Enterprise?

If the purpose of a business continuity plan is to protect the enterprise in case of a major disruption then why should we be concerned with what type of disruption occurs? I’ve read in a handful of references a definition of business continuity and the misnomer for me is the word ‘protect’. I’m not intending [...]

Wednesday September 23rd, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Risk Management | Comments Off

Business Continuity Readiness

• People Planning includes Delegation of Authority, Succession Plan, Contact Information, Team Leader or Support Roles • Facilities Identification of Primary Facilities, Alternate Facilities, and Tertiary Facilities. It’s important to determine the minimum essential requirements necessary to continue operating business and services. For example: telephony, internet, furniture, secured access, equipment, and staff. • Process Process [...]

Wednesday September 23rd, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Getting Buy-In

How do we convince a client, customer, manager or C-Level executive that there is a need [for business continuity planning]? Be realistic, times are ‘always’ tough, budgets are ‘always’ tight, and management or clients are ‘always’ wondering why they should spend any more money. This is especially true if you are trying to get a [...]

Sunday September 20th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

System Restored, All is Well, – NOT!

Once the technician or data center staff restores our system all is well – or is it? What are your experiences? Our troubles continue well after power is restored, the logon screen returns, or the databases are re-synched,  I think. You’ve certainly experience this, right? I support the position that for all situations there is [...]

Sunday September 20th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Champions of Business Continuity

Every project needs a champion. Figuring out who it is may not always be apparent. What do you think? For Business Continuity Planning-BCP and/or Continuity of Operations Planning-COOP making the determination of the appropriate level in the organization is an important first step to any successful project. In order to ascertain what is the appropriate [...]

Sunday September 20th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Business Continuity – Who’s Interested?

Private Sector – BCP Plan Many successful businesses have a plan for the inevitable and unforeseen. The BCP provides a shared, coordinated and well understood business critical process that is part of the very fabric of an organization’s strategic plan. The plan is applicable even during more common but significant disruptions. Examples: Banks, Childcare Centers, [...]

Sunday September 20th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off

Business Continuity Management

Business Continuity Management: SELF-CERTIFICATION? The 9-11 Commission produced a number of guidelines including language of Title IX where voluntary preparedness standards is defined as “… a common set of criteria for preparedness, disaster management, emergency management, and business continuity programs, such as… (ANSI/NFPA 1600).” (1)  The Public Law 110-53 is an evolution of the commission [...]

Thursday September 17th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management | Comments Off
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