Author: Jim Mitchell

Business Continuity Planners, don’t have the ability to predict the future.  That doesn’t mean they should ignore current industry findings about the future either.  Far too many organizations continue to plan for the “Big 4” (Loss of Building, Loss of People, Loss of IT, and Loss of Vendor) just as they have been doing for […]

Let’s suppose that – to protect your family – you decide to build an ark in your garage.  (An ark is a large wooden ship, like the one Noah used to save pairs of animals during the biblical “Great Flood”)  Where would you start?  Would you purchase lumber and simply start sawing and hammering?  Would […]

Organizations in which emergencies, crisis and disruptions are, if not common, frequent, are likely to have an Emergency Management department, team or group.  Public Utilities, Energy, Transportation (especially aviation) and Government agencies, among others, are all likely to maintain Emergency Management functions. Emergency Management (EM) and Business Continuity Management (BCM) have principles in common.  You […]

What can you do when Business Continuity Plan owners fail to update their Plans? I previously discussed why some organizations struggle – or simply neglect – to update their BIA data.  A BIA can be like a Platypus (an Australian mammal – part duck/beaver/reptile – that lays eggs).  Designed by a committee, a BIA may […]

Call them what you wish – justifications, rationales, excuses; there are plenty of reasons that organizations large and small fail to create or maintain Business Continuity Plans.  Even having a BC program doesn’t assure that development of Plans across the enterprise gets full cooperation.  Maybe you’ve heard some of these justifications in your own organization: […]