DISASTER RECOVERY 
JOURNAL

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Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
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Patrick Corcoran, IBM Bus. Cont. & Rec. Services
Jeff Dato, MBCP, KPMG
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James Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting Inc.
John Jackson, Independant


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CONTACTS
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Business Continuity 
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Journal of Business Continuity
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fax: 0011-613-953-0528
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Quake Japan Co., Ltd.
Phone: 03-3215-2880
fax: 03-3215-2881

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Disaster Recovery Mercosul
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conc2000@uol.com.br
www.drms.com.br

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PLANNER'S GUIDE

Something You Can Take to Senior Management

By JOHN LAYE, FBCI

Alice in Wonderland said, “Curiouser and curiouser.”
Trying to keep your organization’s readiness adequate for the threats to business continuity since Sept. 11, 2001, you can sure empathize with Alice because, like Alice, you are confronted by paradoxes. On the one hand, there is more awareness of threats to business continuity – but most of the budgeting laid on soon after 9-11 to meet those threats has now been scaled back. Another example: consultant colleagues report many more inquiries after 9-11 – but fewer contracts. And even testing for existing plans is down from 34 percent to 21 percent, according to a recent survey. Webster’s II New Revised Dictionary defines doldrums as “a period or condition of depression or inactivity.” You’re there.
Some have offered reasons: “Senior management must be waiting for the recession to end and cash flow to improve.” Or, “Senior management must be working on a merger.” Or even, “Senior management must be waiting for Washington to lead the way by issuing guidelines from the new Homeland Defense Department.”
Well, whether the reason turns out to be one, all or none of the above, managers who are responsible for readiness are facing two realities for the foreseeable future. Senior management is more focused on other issues – and we who would rather not seek other employment will have to accomplish more with less, so ... how to deal with those realities?
Let’s take reality one first. Senior management’s focus is elsewhere, and the result is you, as your organization’s manager responsible for readiness, cannot get the time and other resources you want to develop the business continuity program. It matters not how far in the development process you have brought the program, you’re in the doldrums. You need to regenerate momentum.
There are several examples of disruptive events that were allowed to expand into disasters, then crises – which became catastrophes that sunk organizations and took top-level careers down with them. All of those can be used to remind seniors that planning, which draws on the lessons learned by others, can save much.
This concept comes from President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s quote to the effect that, “The plan may be useless, but the planning process is invaluable.”
Planning is the key word here, but in a slow economy, don’t push for the full set of resources you want to have and then expect to work through the entire 10-step process of program development. Realistically, resources of time, toil, treasure, and talent are going to be hard to come by.
To get out of the post 9-11 doldrums, smart, prepared managers will suppress their understandable sense of urgency and lower their expectations. Progress made slowly still improves preparedness, and trying too hard to make your case gives leverage to other managers competing for the now-scarce resources. It may also be an irritant to seniors who must try, like Solomon to meet all needs – most of which have potential benefits for your organization. In short, don’t let a sense of urgency thrust you into a CLA (career limiting activity).
So, what about the second reality — doing more with less?
Having sown the seeds with senior management, you need some colleagues as allies. Instead of doing all the steps in the ideal program development process, some can at least be abbreviated. Make a list of threats and hazards that are likely at your organization’s most important site and that no one is likely to say are unlikely. Then outline a brief scenario for each, describing their effects. Now comes the fun part.
Pilot test your outline by describing it, with emphasis on effects, for some friend who is one of the key business unit managers — “business process owners,” in current MBA-language. Ask him or her what the impacts would be on that unit’s ability to keep your organization effective (or profitable, or efficient, or whatever words your organization’s culture uses to measure its key functions). Also, get his or her feedback about how you can improve your pitch. Then take it around to other key business process owners. If some are reticent about translating your scenario outline into impacts, just cut to the chase. Tell those that, for whatever reason, you’re out of the building for the foreseeable future. Yellow tape around it while fire marshals investigate. Then ask, “We’ll be operating from the warehouse down the block, what will your business unit need?” You are now about three jumps ahead in the process, and doing more with less.
Better still, you should have some great quotes to go with your next reminder to senior management. In this case, the plan can even be a narrowly-focused one, looking only at the scenarios you chose. Doesn’t that fly in the face of the optimal generalized plan? Yes and no.
Yes, it focuses on the scenarios no one is likely to argue with. True – but remember, we’re doing this because you’re not going to get all you want during this slow economy, so less matches today’s reality.
No, because the real goal is never the plan, but a trained business continuity/crisis management team. Letting that team train on the narrow scenarios will prepare them for scenarios yet unseen. In other words, it’s getting them familiar with the crisis management process and getting them practice in team problem-solving.
As for the plan, given the scarcity of all three categories of resources: time, toil, and treasure – do it in an outline form you can use to train the team and use their post-exercise lessons learned lists to fill in key details.
Presto! You have got senior management thinking about business continuity, you have enlisted some allies among critical business process managers, you have an outline/draft plan, and you have begun training a team to use it. Just go forward with these without pushing too hard.
You’re out of the doldrums.

John Laye, FBCI, is author of the book, “Avoiding Disaster: How To Keep Your Business Going When Catastrophe Strikes.” He is a specialist in contingency and business continuity planning and a frequent lecturer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Management Institute. He is director emeritus of the University of California’s Continuing Education in Business and Management Program for managers developing emergency plans. He is also the former president of the California Emergency Services Association.

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