Business Continuity Planning Requires an Upgrade during COVID-19

Long before I became involved in Blockchain, I led the 9-11 Commission's effort to recommend the U.S. National Fire Protection Association 1600 as a standard to address business continuity and disaster management from any type of crisis or disaster, man-made or natural. The standard was adopted by the US Department of Homeland Security as a voluntary consensus standard for emergency preparedness. I also served on the US Standards team to create the ISO 22301 - the International standard for business continuity management.

The drive for these standards was to give businesses a mechanism to measure their preparedness and to navigate any form of crisis. But more importantly, as a consequence of our 9-11 investigation into the business continuity preparedness of the companies in the Twin Towers, it became evident that businesses had little or no preparedness to save lives or their businesses. Unfortunately, witnessing the current crisis, it appears that companies still do not have robust business continuity plans in place.

Business continuity plans should not revolve around the cause of the disruption, but the fact that disruption can occur which can affect multiple areas of the business independently or simultaneously. Hindsight is 2020 and the reality is that most businesses did not have these plans set up for a multitude of reasons. It's not too late to codify what your company is doing amidst the COVID-19 crises and incorporate lessons learned while planning for your future. Email me if you would like to discuss.