Overview
In this next episode, I was once again joined by Jeff Donaldson, PhD, to continue the conversation on emergency preparedness, this time discussing it in the context of enterprises and business continuity.
This episode starts by looking at the topic from a business perspective. Specifically, we covered a range of ideas, including adaptive business continuity compared to the traditional approach, empowering business leaders to support planning and response, prioritizing people over technology, and so much more.
Jeff brings a tremendous amount of experience and education directly relating to preparedness and business continuity to the podcast today, from his experience as a military officer in the Canadian Army (28 years!) leading logistical operations, as the principal researcher at Preparedness Labs Incorporated, and as an Associate Faculty member at Royal Roads University. Plus, he’s earned his MA in Disaster and Emergency Management and his doctorate in Public Policy. I’m excited to bring you all his expertise.
He even hosts a highly acclaimed podcast on preparedness and leads training sessions where he communicates (as he says), “Non-Apocalyptic evidence-based strategies for rational people with dreams.”
— Learn more about Jeff and his projects here —
– Preparedness Labs Inc
– Inside My Canoehead (Podcast)
Highlights from This Episode
- Reactive vs. Proactive Business Continuity: Many companies focus on recovery and response rather than creating insulation from the effects of a disaster.
- Importance of Social Capital: Building trust and relationships across teams and divisions is key for business continuity success, especially in times of crisis.
- Minimal Acceptable Standards: Many organizations, particularly small municipalities or corporations, meet only the minimal standard of preparedness for compliance purposes.
- Prioritization of Critical Functions: The Business Impact Analysis (BIA) allows companies to determine what systems must be restored first and how much downtime they can tolerate.
- Impactful Exercises vs. Minimal Disruptions: The idea that exercises for business continuity should reflect real-life, potentially disruptive scenarios rather than choosing the least disruptive options.
- Empowering Business Continuity Teams: Success in business continuity relies on empowering specialized teams to make key decisions without constant oversight.
- Investing in Employees’ Preparedness: Investing in employees’ personal preparedness (e.g., first aid training) can reduce stress during emergencies, as employees will be more likely to show up at work.
- People over Technology: The London Underground bombing showed that when technology failed, people and processes mattered most in managing the crisis.
- Adaptive Business Continuity: Instead of rigid plans, adaptive business continuity trains teams to manage unpredictable disruptions by focusing on flexibility and trust.
- Training and Empowerment Leads to Better Business Continuity: Employees who feel empowered and trusted to make decisions are more likely to contribute to business recovery efforts.
Memorable Quotes:
- On Empowering Employees: “The level of freedom that you assign to your business continuity professional… is directly correlated to the quality of service that you’ll get.”
- On Trusting Teams: “When you get up and running, if they take a system down to bring another system up, they’re not asking you permission. You’ve either put them in there with the trust to do what’s right, or you haven’t.”
- On People vs. Technology: “People are your solution. The quality and success of your organization is directly correlated to the quality of the people.”
- On Preparedness in the Workplace: “It’s not just for office injuries, but it trains employees to deal with things that happen at home… Investing in people is not expensive, but it’s huge.”
- On Investing in People: “You don’t need to become a doomsday prepper. Preparedness is a lifestyle, not a stockpile.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Cert (Community Emergency Response Team Training): A public education program offered in the U.S. to teach people basic disaster response skills.
- St. John Ambulance (First Aid Training): A first aid training provider and kits.
- Mark Armour: Mentioned for his work on Adaptive Business Continuity, an innovative approach to business continuity.
- ISO Framework: Referenced as an international standard corporations use for business continuity planning.
- Greg Vandergast: Mentioned as an author who critiques the cybersecurity industry.
- Websites/Platforms
Use CONTROL + F to search the transcript below if you want to learn more!
Related Episodes
- Corporate Intel to Emergency Management
- Healthcare & Emergency Management
- Medicine & Security Standards
- Personal Emergency Preparedness
- Rethinking Business Continuity
