Operational Resilience and Continuity – without the drama

Our consulting offer for vulnerable times. The gap most mid-sized firms face Most firms have bits and pieces of business continuity, risk, and IT/DR work, but too often: Plans are outdated or don’t match how operations actually run today. • Operations, IT, risk, and suppliers each see their own slice – no one owns the… Read More

UNIVERSAL FRAMEWORK – Domain 7. Governance & Accountability – evidence notes

Metric: % of material issues closed on time (audit, reviews, incidents) E1 – Exists (Gateway Evidence) Do defined governance roles, accountabilities, and issue management processes exist? E2 – Enabled Are issue owners supported with authority, tracking, and escalation mechanisms? E3 – Executed Are material issues reliably closed on time, with consequences for non-closure? Evidence and… Read More

We could … but should we?

In contexts characterized by uncertainty, I am not convinced that AI provides sound solutions. Equally, I’m pretty sure that those dusty plans on your shelf (or in your cupboard) won’t measure up either. A reflection in the International Crisis Management Standard notes that “crises through a combination of their novelty, inherent uncertainty and potential scale… Read More

The heat is on …

No, not the 1980s soundtrack … though that was fun. As we move into summer, we are reminded of a chilling fact. Heat kills more people than other extreme events. The second point worth reflection here is that “natural disasters” are not natural. The extreme event might (or might not) be caused by “nature”, for… Read More

How do you “see“ your organization?

Each lens is useful for different purposes. Our clients find the “systems and processes” lens particularly useful when checking for “bloat” or “waste”. This is worth doing occasionally as organizations can become misshaped or bigger than they need to be. The two most useful approaches which our clients use to address this need are:

Exceeding expectations

I don’t like the smugness of “exceeding expectations”. “Adequate” is a wonderful term. It is about focusing on a target. It rides on the shoulders of two other great terms, “necessary” and “sufficient”. Anything more is bluster and waste. To address what is necessary and sufficient to be adequate for you, consider our UpWork offerings.

Add silent scooters – and silent policy – as one of your hazards

In Melbourne on the weekend I was nearly “cleaned up” a couple of times with near miss e scooter incidents. So I thought I’d do a quick check on some questions around whether it’s an issue in Melbourne – and elsewhere. The answer is YES In England In Adelaide A hazard – whispering up behind… Read More

Sure you could – but why would you want to?

“Sure you could – but why would you want to?” is a simple way of challenging the rationale of a decision. I was quite young when I saw the famous film “Lawrence of Arabia” and I vividly recall the above conversation about why someone ought to do a particular thing. In this case, the someone… Read More

Time is our currency

Of value are risk-based approaches which emphasise the importance of “establishing context”. Unfortunately “context” has become a buzzword – and buzzwords become irksome and lose traction. This is unfortunate because “meaning making” or “sense-making” – again, use whichever jargon or buzzword you like – is fundamental. Critical. It is critical to both “get right” and keep refining. Read More