Leadership and Successful BCP Planning

There is no more important issue to the successful implementation of a Business Continuity program then leadership.

There are two key factors.

First the CEO or leader of the organization MUST understand that it is his or her responsibility to see that the program gets done. They must support the appointed leader in the organization (who carries the water on the project), or the plan will fail or be ineffective. The CEO is the one who has the ability to see that ALL parts of the organization take part and fulfill their responsibilities. This is the reality of the nature of organizations. I cover this area right off the bat in my course. In fact I will tell you if you do not have top level support, don't even bother doing the program, it will fail or be ineffective.

The second key factor is the person or the "Champion" for leading the BCP team to do its work. This is the next most likely cause for failure, if this person does not get the instruction and support needed to do the job.

The foremost comment I recieve from customers who have taken on the job (or been given the job) of doing a corporate BCP plan is that they are "overwhelmed" by the enormity of the job. They don't know were to start, and most importantly they don't know when they are finished. It becomes a thankless task, doomed to second guessing if you do not have a model or a paradigm to follow. The format we use in our training is to lay out the format for a successful program so you know what you need to do, and what information you need to work with, and the steps the organization MUST take to protect itself. Go to rossmcleansecurity.com for more info on the model.

If you look at the failures in Katrina, that is where they started.

I'll spend the month of November discussing the issues of leadership in Business Continutiy Planning in this blog.

Fear of Change as Risk

There is no doubt about it, change and the rate of change that is underway, and that is coming is the Tsunami that is coming to North America.

Change to value chains, change to "labor", change in technologies, change in demographics, and the list goes on and on.

The problem is not just change, but the rate of the change, which requires an intelligent response from an organization. So the questions are;

does your organization understand the fundamentals of your current business? (do you?)

Go ask any 5 senior level or mid level people and ask them if they know what the major objectives of the company are for this coming year, ask them for the 3 greatest dangers to your company, and ask them if they have a plan to deal with them. (what would you say?)

If you get any answers, my bet is they will almost all be different and you will get many "deer in the headlights" looks from your subjects.

If you don't understand the terrain and the battle, you'll lose the war.

How would it be if you asked 5 senior people in your company and you got the same answer, the same battle plan? How would you like to be in that position? How would you feel about your chances of succeeding as a company then?

Companies will and are competing on their ability to accept, and implement intelligent change as a company in a rapid fashion. In order to do this, everyone must be on the same page. What score would you give your company out of 10?

Change is here and it is coming rapidly and in greater strength then many can imagine. Denial and ignorance are not good defenses, it could cost you your job, your company, and the future you are depending on. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, CHANGE IS ON THE WAY FOR YOU!

2006 is your year to wake everyone up and get your ducks in a row, and be prepared to respond quickly, where does your organization stand on knowing how to rapidly and intellegently implement change.....where do you stand as an individual?

If you would like more info. Drop me a line at;
ross.mclean@rossmcleansecurity.com I'll help you get prepared.