He's Back With (And Asking For) Feedback!

He’s Back With (And Asking For) Feedback!

Hi! Today, I just wanted to provide a few more thoughts and information from our hugely successful volunteer day and DRI2012 conference. Catie Quinn at Second Harvest provided this information about the work effort.

Hi Clyde,

Thank you so much for your kind words and support of Second Harvest, I really enjoyed your group and they did a fantastic job! While they were here the group from the Disaster Recovery Institute packed 6,220 lbs of food which is enough for 5,183 meals!!! Thank you for your leadership and for sending such a great group of volunteers.

Sincerely,
Catie Quinn

Isn’t that what this was all about? Thank you Second Harvest crew!
And now here’s my view on some quick take-aways from the conference:

I met so many wonderful people from so many different diverse backgrounds.
I made many new friends.
I learned so much about what we all do for a living from my peers.
I had a good time in New Orleans.
I felt good about the Volunteer Day – an amazing day, really!
We have room to grow this fine conference and look forward to the next big Volunteer Day experience in the Philadelphia area.
My colleagues at the DRII and DRI Foundation are extraordinary people and enormously capable. I loved working with them all!
Our vendors and sponsors are supportive and exceptional people who are committed to making our profession better in everything they do.
I enjoyed the conference venue and working with our partners at ROC.
As BCP folks, we always seek to think through where we really need to focus our attention to make our programs stronger and more relevant. Here’s my take on a few questions that should be front-of-mind as a long time BCP professional and instructor for DRI International.
Is your leadership team engaged and committed to your success in developing a viable program?
How do you define commitment? Can you achieve success with limited support?
What do you consider the most important element of your BC / DR project / program life-cycle?
I view Risk Evaluation, Identification of Critical Business Functions via a comprehensive yet practical BIA, development of viable / actionable strategies, and a simple yet comprehensive plan documentation program. The final essential element includes exercise / testing of your various components of your BC Plan Model.
Do you plan for all outage types or all impact types?
I plan for multiple, yet limited, impact types (like loss of technology, inability for staff to come to work, inability of vendo
rs to support us during an outage … to name a few).
Have you considered the impact of your business partners and vendors in your BCP?
Who are they? How are they critical? Are they engaged in your planning and BC strategies? Can you always reach them?
What do you do for BC Program Training and Awareness?
Have you scheduled BCP awareness days? Have you invited local emergency support personnel? Have you considered having high profile guest speakers?
What are the most pressing issues that face us as BC Professionals?
Is it cyber-crime, public image, supply chain, power / infrastructure weaknesses, lack of trained BC staff, shortages of BC staff in tough economic time … ? What are your hot buttons?