The Tribune

What is the purpose of your business? Should it die with you, or should it continue regardless of the disasters or tragic events that may present themselves? What have you determined to be a disaster for your business?

If you are not prepared, then the answer to these questions becomes difficult and, in some instances, illusive. Even more so for your staff, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders who are depending on your brand to function.

Business continuity and operational resilience (BCOR) in the 21st century is not optional; it is a must. It is a demonstration of your commitment to service excellence and the high regard you have for your stakeholders. If you have not prepared for critical incidents, you leave your operations and reputation to chance. This approach increases the negative impact that such events may have, and could possibly even lead to the complete failure of your business.

As the old Negro spiritual says: ‘Let the church roll on, my Lord, let the Church roll on’.

It suggests that regardless of the crisis, the doors of the business will - and must - remain open. The delivery of service is key, and the customer is king.

This message rang loud and clear on November 9, 2014, when the Bahamas was gripped with the tragic news of a plane crash that took the lives of several persons, including Dr Myles Munroe and Dr Richard Pinder.

They were notable names locally and globally, renowned in the religious and motivational speaker spheres. Also of note for this writer was the fact that these two gentlemen were numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’, respectively, in the same organisation.

Thus in one act, a multi-million dollar operation, with stakeholders and services from all over the world, lost its leader and apparent successor. Painful and tragic on many fronts, but this untimely event demanded that the those left must now move into high gear to respond, recover and resume operations.

A BCOR programme, if properly developed and implemented, is made up of several smaller plans outlining strategy, process and tactics. A good BCOR programme is dependent on preparedness, and a group of people within an organisation who are educated, trained, ready to act, and innovative. E

The company must know its product inside and out during the good times, but be able to adapt and flex during the crisis.

A little over a week later and we see the adjustment made within the Bahamas Faith Ministries International community, where leaders in waiting have had to step up into the posts unexpectedly.

The question you should be asking yourself now is what did you learn from this tragedy, the aftermath of which, in my opinion, can and should also been seen as success.

Can your organisation manage such a sudden and unexpected change in operational procedure and leadership?

Notwithstanding that your company, within hours, was about to launch a product that customers had flown in from all over the world to participate in.

Would you have had to postpone, suspend or delay the event?

Here are, in my opinion, some of the important points that should be included in your approach to BCOR.

* Business Impact Analysis – Know what the threats are, and how they affect the organisation.

* Strategy and Tactics – Develop a plan, implement a plan, test and try the plan.

* Succession Planning – Who is in charge?

Someone must always be in charge.

* Cross Training – Do you know what I do? Do I know what you do, and is it written down?

* Cultural Embedding – Everyone at all levels needs to know that a plan exists.

* Source Resources – Know what you need, what you have, how to get it, and how to use it.

* Crisis Communication – What to say to who, who should say it, and when to say it.

* Travel Risk Management – Who goes where, when they should go, and who goes with them.

* Review, Revise, Revisit – Adapt and change, and remain fluid. The plan should be a living document

Murphy’s Law suggests that ‘what will go wrong, will go wrong’.

The inherent threats to your specific business are just the threshold of various negative events that exist.

Your assessment of these incidents must go beyond what is controlled by your organisation, and look into those things that are out of your control.

The dynamics of doing business in today’s industrial world demands that attention is given to things outside your control.

We will continue to have tragedy, crisis and loss, this is a part of our existence.

We must all do better jobs at accepting these realities and be better in preparing for them.

But at the same time we will also have good times, celebrations and happiness. Let us all put even more effort into preparing for these events as well; they, too, are a part of our existence.

NB: Gamal Newry, specialises in loss prevention and asset protection strategy development.

His company, Preventative Measures, is a training and consulting firm, providing services in business security reviews and audits, and emergency and crisis management.

Comments and inquiries can be sent to P.O Box N-3154 Nassau, Bahamas, or email gnewry@preventativemeasures.org or you can visit the website at www.preventativemeasures.org