#147 – THE NINE CIRCLES OF PLANNING HELL – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150The Nine Circles of Planning Hell (Adapted from Dante’s Inferno)

Introduction

Inferno, the first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy that inspired the latest Dan Brown’s bestseller of the same title describes the poet’s vision of Hell. The story begins with the narrator (who is the poet himself) being lost in a dark wood where he is attacked by three beasts which he cannot escape. He is rescued by the Roman poet Virgil who is sent by Beatrice (Dante’s ideal woman). Together, they begin the journey into the underworld or the Nine Circles of Hell. Continue reading

#146 – IT IS ALL ABOUT SURVIVABILITY – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150If you want senior management to pay attention give them something that challenges their focus – and understand that their focus is not on how many computers you have or RTO, RPO stats. It is on business survivability – will we be in business tomorrow given the issues that we face today.

What is more important to your organization’s continuity of operations – how many computers you have or where your competition will be coming from in the next five years? Continue reading

#145 – ALTERED STATES: RISK PERCEPTION AFTER THE EVENT – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150Heightened Awareness or Reactive, Backwards Looking?

From financial crises to energy catastrophes to earthquakes and threats of terrorism, we hear a lot about events that challenge our ability to identify and manage risk. Unfortunately some of the things that emerge from many of these events are reactive regulatory rules and requirements. Continue reading

#142 – BLACK SWANS, GREY SWANS, WHITE SWANS …. – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150We hear a lot about things that are being called “Black Swans” today thanks to Nassim Taleb and his extremely successful book, “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable,” now in its second edition. I have written several articles centering on the “Black Swan” phenomenon; defending, clarifying and analyzing the nature of “Black Swan” events. And, I am finding that wildly improbable events are becoming perfectly routine events. Continue reading

#141 – REAL WORLD VOLATILITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCENARIO GENERATION – GEARY SICKICH

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Untitled1-150x150Introduction

In the risk-neutral world, all business and government continuity planning would be risk-balanced. However, in reality, risks, threats, hazards and their consequences change depending on an organizations exposure, sensitivities to impact and other factors. For instance, a natural disaster, can occur without much warning and can have direct and indirect impact on an organization. Complicating the Business Continuity Planners life is a simple fact, events have unforeseen consequences that can rarely be planned for. Continue reading