What I’m referring to is the sea-level executive. These are the executives who, when dealing with any aspect of business continuity (BC) bury heads in the sand. If they don’t see a disaster on the horizon, a disaster won’t occur. They are burying their heads so deeply in the sand that they are now at sea level (or below).
The major problem with sea-level executives (SLE) is their unwillingness to listen to the benefits of BC. Their focus is on cost cutting and they see disaster preparedness as a cost, clear and simple. Even though preparedness is an insurance policy that will pay off big when (not if) a disaster strikes, that argument doesn’t sway them.
The SLE takes on the mentality of a puppy dog trying to hide. The puppy will hide its head when it sees that its caregiver is trying to give it a bath (dogs have a sixth sense when it comes to impending baths) and as long as the puppy can’t see, it reasons that it can’t be seen either, regardless of the fact that the rest of its body is in full view. The SLE feels that if the impending disaster can’t be seen (head firmly planted in the sand), a disaster won’t happen. No disaster, no need to spend dollars to prevent a disaster.
Unfortunately, many of the SLEs are the decision-makers in a company. Stakeholders love them because they see the bottom line of the costs the SLEs are cutting. Of course, many of these same stakeholders would be frightened if they learned that the savings were at the expense of BC and the future of the company. However, the stakeholders never see this because BC is not a line item when it comes to summarizing where the costs are slashed.
This is a cat and mouse game the SLEs play. Of course they don’t want to say that they are cutting out BC any more than they would tell their stakeholders they’ve cancelled the company’s fire insurance. They know that investors would flee if they thought that their investments were unprotected. Many stakeholders just assume that a prudent business plan includes all the means to protect the company. And they would be right in their thinking. A prudent business plan does include business continuity.
Again, the SLE is burying his head in the sand. The SLE feels that if the stakeholder doesn’t see that BC has been eliminated, they won’t see the exposed “puppy” sticking out in plain view. Of course, it may take awhile for the puppy to be seen. Assuredly, a disaster striking the company would be a sure-fire way, but there are other ways a stakeholder can find the truth.
Any company with a regulatory requirement to provide BC or a contractual obligation where clients require their vendors to have a BC plan in place will be exposed if they are confronted with an audit. An audit can be a BC planner’s friend; however, the SLE always has a delaying tactic. Whenever an audit exposes a deficiency, the SLE says that they will comply soon. For example, the “annual” BC exercise has been explained as just being “delayed” this year, but it’s “just around the corner.” This buys the SLE some time – time to pad the resume with “cost cutting” experience and boosting a company’s bottom line. Fortunately, SLEs usually don’t hang around a company long. It usually takes two or three years, and then they move on to another unsuspecting company looking to cut costs. Unfortunately, the BC plan has now been sitting around dormant during the tenure of the SLE, and a good BC plan is now a non-existent plan.
Once the SLE is gone and the auditors have exposed your lack of compliance, the company has already suffered the friendly fire. The investors have decided to move on and invest their dollars in a more promising company with a competent C-level executive in place. Your clients have moved on, too. They have gone to a vendor that is in BC compliance and provides for the protection of their futures. This is the proverbial closing of the barn door once the horse has already left the stall.
Once you have lost your investors, your third-party vendors, and your clients, the best BC plan can do little to save your company. The damage can be extensive, and regaining market share may take years to regain. Beware of the sea-level executive. Your biggest disaster threat may be sitting in the office right down the hall.
About The Author: Ron Fauset, CBCP, is an active member of the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners (ACP) and of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). He has conducted mock disaster drills at financial institution seminars for clients.
"Appeared in DRJ's Spring 2008 Issue"
