Learn from the past, to prepare your busines for the future
“Always be prepared” is a mantra many of us have heard since childhood, but have you considered how prepared your business truly needs to be to maintain continuity through a disaster?
Living in SWFL means you probably already have a plan to put in place when a hurricane is looming, but in our global economy, your business can be impacted by disasters thousands of miles away. From pandemic lockdowns to volcanic ash clouds disrupting delivery, many events can interfere with your normal business operations. Man-made disasters, like terrorist bombings, cyber-attacks (such as the recent pipeline shutdown and subsequent gas shortage), wars, or even a massive recall on a vehicle, are emergencies that directly affect business operations on global and local scales.
How can you prepare for the unknown? The best way to prepare for potential disasters and continue operations is to learn from the past, with a deep dive into what worked and what didn’t for a variety of business owners. The book In Hindsight - A Compendium of Business Continuity Case Studies does just this by analyzing a variety of disasters spanning the last 30 years, giving insight into how you can avoid making similar mistakes, reduce risks, and enable faster recovery for your own business when things go wrong.
Business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning are essential for every business, in all industries and sectors. The last year has shown us all that a pandemic can affect all businesses differently and will be handled differently across industries. Where should you start? The case studies in this book give you a jumping-off point to anticipate ‘worst-case’ scenarios so that you can put systems in place to mitigate your losses. Considering all the potential problems and how best to mitigate them ahead of time can mean the difference between shutting down, potentially permanently, or being prepared to meet immediate needs and keep your business running during and after a disaster.
