As I mentioned in my last blog, DRJ world has always been very special to me for various reasons. It gave us our launch pad, allowed us to prove our ‘staying power’, gave us the chance to interact with our elders, peers and much more. Every year – there’s new trends to see, new swag to talk about and more importantly new lessons learnt and new realizations.
My recent trip to DRJ in San Diego brought me to a realization; it reinforced something that has been bothering me for some time: in the BCM industry, longevity and ‘expertise’ don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand.
Experience in most industries is often used as one of the key indicators to evaluate the person’s value and worth. I’m not even sure if having years of BCM experience is even a good thing though. Don’t get me wrong – I am not criticizing all of the older members in the game. I have plenty of my own grey hairs too. Nonetheless, I’m concerned that survival in this industry does not automatically translate to expertise. In fact, it seems to have just the opposite impact.
Think about it, have you ever met anyone who dreamed of becoming a Business Continuity Planner someday? Yeah, me neither. Most of us got into this industry by accident while narrowing down our options in the consulting/technology arena. Those who remained made the best of the situation. After all, there are some advantages to being a BCM leader.
- You get visibility across the organization
- You’re the keeper of information that no one else has
- You have power that cannot be challenged (especially if you work in a highly regulated industry)
Citing the criticality of this function in most regulated industries – the roles of BCM becomes well secured. Over time you develop a methodology that’s strong on paper and satisfies your management and auditors. The problem is that it often lacks substance and feasibility in real life scenarios. It’s like a crash course designed not to develop real understanding of a subject but to pass the test.
You repeat the cycle – BIA/Plan updates/tests- over and over. It works and so there’s no real need to fix it. You meet your KPI keeping the auditors and regulators at bay further resulting in a good performance review.
One thing is for sure as we know it – no methodology is timeless and as the world spins from one day to the next – a lot can change.The problem is that, as your role has matured and you developed a methodology that ‘works’, the world around you has been evolving- but you haven’t.
The most frustrating thing is that the rise of new ideas, new concepts, strategies & perspectives is constantly thwarted, ignored or drowned by the experts who’ve been doing things the same way since before Y2K.
The industry or at least it’s ‘experts’ are afraid of change and have fallen prey to complacency. Change is definitely going to be unsettling, thought provoking, stimulating and challenging and it may even require more effort, but it’s far from evil. Let’s stop worrying about the old guard, it’s time for the new. If this industry is to survive, it’s time for some changes:
- Move the goalposts. Change your KPI’s. Stop focusing on plans and start thinking about building a sustainable program.
- Educate Ownership. Stop looking for support and start showing some. Use your knowledge and information to help management make better decisions. Establish yourself as the ‘expert’ in operational risk rather than the ‘Prophet of Doom’. Be proactive and less reactive.
- Educate the Referees. If your auditors show up looking for the same things year after year – give them something new. Show them how you can align your program with operations to provide more day-to-day value. Show them that BCM is more than just Call Trees and team structures.
- Change the rules. No more Pass/Fail exercises; push the envelope and challenge your players to react to challenging scenarios (you can learn a lot by failing – but only if there’s no punishment). Don’t rely on the same old BIA questionnaire; try workshops and roundtable discussions to gain better insight into impacts and dependencies.
- Become a Team Player. Information is only power if you use it. You have access to information no one else has; figure out who could benefit from it and help them understand how to use it.
- Adopt a new Strategy.
Every DRJ – and every other BCM show – has at least one “How to get Management Buy-in” session. If you can’t get management buy-in, maybe you’re the problem, not Management. Maybe that tried-and-true methodology you’ve been using all these years is not the Road to Resiliency – but just a rut to nowhere.
