bci summit sydney 2010

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About meAbout me

• Independent Management Consultant• 20 years in/around BCM related field20 years in/around BCM related field

– Originally in Mainframe IT & DRI t ti l BCM li t b– International BCM client base

– Consulted to PwC and ANAO on BCM• To learn more

http://www blog vrg net au– http://www.blog.vrg.net.au– http://Linkedin.com/in/kendsimpson

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The meaning of resilience isThe meaning of resilience is ...

• Vague and unclear• Too many (conflicting) meanings e gToo many (conflicting) meanings, e.g.

– Resilient Orgs (NZ)ASIS R ili St d d– ASIS Resilience Standard

– Computer companies• Becoming (and remaining) resilient is

potentially a ‘wicked’ problempotentially a wicked problem

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My meaning of resilience isMy meaning of resilience is ...

• Becoming resistant to impacts and also being able to recover operational state g pafter impact

• A function of• A function of– Robustness– Redundancy– AgilityAgility– Adaptability

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The opposite of resilience isThe opposite of resilience is …

• NOT uncertainty– Resilience can cope with

uncertainty– Adaptability does not

i t i trequire certainty• Vulnerability

– Break at low levels of impact

– Single points of failure– Rigid hierarchy, silos and

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processes

Uncertainty isUncertainty is …

• The reason we are all here!

• No uncertainty, no need for BCM– www.seek.com.au

• A fact of life youA fact of life, you cannot eliminate it

N t li i t d b– Not eliminated by “epistemic arrogance”

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Risk isRisk is ...“th ff t f t i t bj ti ”• “the effect of uncertainty on objectives”

• “Uncertainty is the state, even partial, of y , p ,deficiency of information related to, understanding or knowledge of an eventunderstanding or knowledge of an event, its consequences, or likelihood”“ li i l k f i• “... explicitly takes account of uncertainty, the nature of uncertainty and how it can be yaddressed”

» ISO31000

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Uncertainty is increased byUncertainty is increased by…

• extended international supply chainspp y– Small fire in New Mexico

Bad weather + Salt– Bad weather + Salt shortage in UK/Europe

i i ti l• growing organisational interdependence

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High Uncertainty situationsHigh Uncertainty situations

• All risks are not created equal ...– Non-Routine risks– High Impact, Low Probability

O t id th i f• Outside the common experience of Management– Limitations of Science and Management to

respondp• Virtual Risk and Wicked Problems

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Wicked ProblemsWicked Problems• Rittel & Webber

– Keith Grint

T P bl• Tame Problem– Maybe complicated– Limited degree of uncertainty– Limited degree of uncertainty– Know how to fix it– Can apply a known process

• Wicked Problem– Complex, not just complicated– Don’t know how to fix (or when is fixed)– Fixing it might break something else

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‘Heritage’ BC and resilienceHeritage BC and resilience

• Relevance of the program to – Executive Managementg– Operations

“Pl thi l i i thi ”• “Plans are nothing, planning is everything”• Deja vu or vu jade??j j• Something you are, not something you do

N t f k lif l– Not a framework or a lifecycle

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ConvergenceConvergenceNot about where BCM should• Not about where BCM should sit in the organisation– Requires collaboration of a range q g

of disciplines across silos• BAU practices and culture will

limit your scope for;limit your scope for;– Agility– Adaptability

• Field Test on EM/BCM links

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Capability not just complianceCapability not just compliance

C li id f t l• Compliance as evidence of control– Control perceived to reduce uncertainty– To achieve performance people take short

cuts– Report good news, which is not questioned

• Capability as evidence of outcomes andCapability as evidence of outcomes and ability to execute– Demonstrated by exercise and drill– Demonstrated by exercise and drill– Integrated with day-to-day processes

Solutions for the real world © 2010, The VR Group Pty LtdAll Rights reserved

Elegant or Clumsy SolutionsElegant or Clumsy SolutionsA l th i t f i t• Apply the appropriate framing to the problem

Building Robustness or– Building Robustness or Redundancy may be Tame

– Conflict between Redundancy andConflict between Redundancy and ‘Lean’ approaches may require re-framing

• Requires different models of leadership or management

• Developing Adaptive responses is probably Wicked

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Art and ScienceArt and Science

Solutions for the real world © 2010, The VR Group Pty LtdAll Rights reserved

Questions?Questions?

• Couple of starters …– Is resilience a journey

or a destination?– Do you want/plan to

th ?go there?

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