Happy Flag Day!

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

Happy Earth Day!

Motivational Monday

It's not Monday.

Monday Motivation: Aim High

Happy First Day of Spring!

Time for some spring cleaning: properly dispose of those old, out-dated Business Continuity plans. All you need is your current one!

Monday Motivation: an oldie but a goodie

It's an old saying but as timely as it ever was! You just can't argue with Milton Berle. You could've tried, but you probably would've lost. Go build some doors today!

Friday Funny: All Natural

I hate the phrase "all natural".

Unless it was made from partially or entirely from supernatural substances, of course it's all natural.

Everything on the planet was made from naturally occurring substances, or something made from naturally occurring substances, or something made for something made from naturally occurring substances.

It's all "all natural"!

Monday Motivation: the quickest way to success

I get so tired of all the people who believe that in order for them to succeed, other's must fail. There is no reason you can't help others succeed along the way!

Blizzard 2015 business continuity tips

The blizzard of 2015 is in full swing, so you can't prepare for it now, but you can start preparing for the next one when you evaluate your company's response to the blizzard:

Blizzard 2015 business continuity tips

Healthcare Info Security put together a great article to help you do just that (including some quotes from DRI's Al Berman).

The article's tips revolve around 3 areas:

• Personnel Issues
• Reviewing Backup Processes
• Maintaining Priorities

These 3 areas will be any company's focus in a weather-related disaster. 

The steps you can take to assure you're ready to respond to a blizzard can often be applied to a tornado, hurricane, flood, etc. 

In some cases, we get a little advance warning that the weather may produce a disaster, and it's imperative the business continuity professional is prepared to take advantage of every minute of that advance warning.

2nd biggest US health insurer has insurance to cover revenue lost as a result of customer info being hacked

From Insurance Networking News:

Anthem to tell customers within two weeks if they were hacked

I had never considered that a health insurer would have information to cover their losses if customer info is hacked, although it makes perfect sense, from a business continuity perspective. But as a consumer (of health insurance, not specifically of Anthem's), my first thought was that their insurance doesn't help me if my information is hacked.

Insurance won't cover damage to an organization's reputation, or gain back the trust of all of their customers.

Friday Funny: It's a Generational Thing

LinkedIn names 10 most overused buzzwords

CIO magazine recently reported on a LinkedIn report that lists the 10 words that are most overused on people's profiles.

The 10 most overused LinkedIn buzzwords

I'm sure these 10 words are also overused on resumes.

The article is worth reading, it discusses each of those tired, boring words and gives tips for replacing those infamous and inadequate words.

Here are the 10 unworthy words:

• motivated
• passionate
• creative (Be creative and use another word.)
• driven
• extensive experience (Okay, that's really two words.)
• responsible
• strategic (Unless you work in strategic planning, in which case it's impossible to avoid; just don't say you're a "strategic thinker". Or "thought leader". That's not on the list but should be. You might as well say "I'm admired by millions, who wish they had thoughts like mine". Did you hear that sound? It was your resume being crumpled up and thrown in the trash.)
• track-record
• organizational
• expert

Now, I need to go check my LinkedIn profile and see how many of these I'm using currently. 

I really hope I didn't use "thought leader".

Disaster recovery isn't dead: 7 things to cover in your DR plan

Business Continuity never replaced DR, it absorbed it into the BC Program. Here's a great reminder of 7 things that should be in your DR plan (from CSO):

7 critical things to cover in your disaster recovery plan

Wednesday Wisdom: Opportunity is Always Knocking!

What's in an IT Disaster Recovery plan template?

SunGard Availability Services has an article that might be useful if you're working on IT DR plans:

Whats in an IT DR plan template

This is a good article and very helpful. It's also a perfect example of what a "plan template" means: it shows you the headings for the plan, the questions you need to answer, and what type of data needs to be included. It's not a file you download and fill in the blanks. 

Any guide that purports to be a quick fill-in-the-blanks template is a fraud: it's either so high level that it's worth nothing, or it's a sales pitch in disguise. SunGard Availability Services' template is exactly the kind of thing you want when you're looking for a template: some key pointers, a list of the things you must include (which is incomplete because it can't address every business in every situation), and some advice on the headings you want to use and in what order.

4 ways to make a project a success despite reluctant users

Insurance Networking News has a fantastic article on one of the most common barriers to any project:

Making a project succeed despite reluctant users

Regardless what business you're in, you will have people who don't share your vision. This article is geared specifically toward software/system users who are less than supportive or completely against change, but the ideas in the article can be applied to a wide range of situations.

Monday Motivation: Don't Let Them Ignore You!

CA takes action to end measles outbreak

It's great to see CA responding to the measles outbreak and trying to put an end to the senseless spread of this disease.

Measles Outbreak Sparks Bid Eliminate Vaccine Exemption

Personally, I don't like the government telling people how to raise their kids, so I have some mixed feelings whether this is the answer. 

However, the anti-vaccination movement based on fake science and panic puts others at risk, especially those too young to be vaccinated and pregnant women. Even if you are vaccinated, it doesn't mean you can't get the measles, it just makes it less  likely that you will. 

Once your personal decisions extend beyond you and your family, and put other people at risk of a disease with horrible side effects, then maybe the government has to step in.

And we do have laws about how you raise your kids: laws against leaving kids unattended, neglect in getting medical care for a child or starving them, laws against physical abuse that place limits on how a parent can 'discipline' a child, laws that state your child must be given an education.

So, as I said, I have some mixed feelings. But I think CA is right bring this up as something that can't be ignored, and hopefully it will raise awareness and cause dialog needed to end these measles outbreaks.

Creating a Culture of Preparedness

Emergency Management Magazine has a wonderful article about embedding the business continuity process into the culture of an organization:

Tips for Creating a Culture of Preparedness

So often, this is the hardest thing to achieve in your awareness program. There are some great insights in this article.

Business Continuity Awareness Week is coming up in March, incorporate some of this advice into your plan!