Author’s note: This is the first part of a longer article that will become my presentation of the same title for WCDM 2013. It incorporates thoughts expressed in my articles “Is the BCM profession a dead-end?” in 2010, “BCI-DRJ alliance: this is ‘thought leadership?’” in 2011 and in “Why traditional approaches aren’t working”, my 2012 presentation to the Australian National Security College.

It is not yet fully developed, months before WCDM. In particular, I’m wondering if my analysis really does or not apply to both emergency management (EM) in the public sector and business continuity management (BCM) in the private sector. Your comments will help me refine my thinking. I’m happy to engage in a dialogue here or on the WCDM blog; I’ll be ready to defend myself in June in Toronto. Be sure to bring an ample supply of rotten tomatoes to my presentation…

Here’s Why I attend WCDM; I hope you will, too. This article is also available on the WCDM blog.

What’s wrong with contingency planning?

If your CEO asked you – a private-sector business continuity manager (BCM) – to list the major, long-term risks to your company, what risks would be on your list?

Or if an elected official asked you as a public-sector emergency manager (EM) to list the major long-term risks to your community, what risks would be on that list?  Read more... (2267 words, 0 images, estimated 9:04 mins reading time)

A human resources manager in Singapore told me during an exercise she planned to notify next-of-kin of  injured or deceased employees by text message (SMS). I was stunned. If there were a worse way to receive sensitive, painful information, I can’t imagine what it could be.

The rules for ‘breaking bad news’ are:
1. in person: never by phone, email or text
2. in time: anxious relatives want news – good or bad – as quickly as possible
3. in pairs whenever possible: a man and a woman are the best combination
4. in plain language: the facts, frankly and clearly
5. with compassion: as you would want your doctor would tell you.

Here is a page of tips for breaking bad news from Counsellor Suzanne Anderson MSW at SACAC in Singapore. You can learn more about death notification and practice doing it in Suzanne’s Crisis Communications & Crisis Intervention course in March 2013 in Singapore.

A one-day exploration of ways to turn risks in the next ten years into opportunities. (Get it? 2012 + 10 = 2022) Forbes Kay Parsons Charrette (FKPC) is an accelerated planning workshop focused specifically on how to get a return on your investment in organizational and community resilience planning.

The FKPC 2022 is an innovative approach to resilience organized by Nathaniel Forbes (Singapore), Robert Kay (Australia) and David Parsons (Australia). As far as we know, no one’s ever organized a charrette on resilience risks and opportunities before. What’s a charrette? It is “an intense period of design activity…organizing thoughts from experts and users in a structured medium that is unrestricted and conducive to creativity and the development of myriad scenarios:’ From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charrette

FKPC 2022 will be held on Sunday, 24 June 2012, at the Ontario Bar Association in downtown Toronto, Canada. Admission to FKPC 2022 is CAD $395.00, including lunch. Participation is limited to seventy-five (75) people selected from the public, private and non-governmental sectors.

Sunday, 24 June is the Sunday before the World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM).  Read more... (589 words, 2 images, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)

A one-day workshop about turning risks into opportunities
with the theme “understanding future sources of human-induced disasters”
led by Nathaniel Forbes, Robert Kay and David Parsons

The Forbes Kay Parsons Charrette 2022 (FKPC) is a one-day exploration of ways to turn the risks of the next ten years into opportunities. (Get it? 2012 + 10 = 2022) FKPC  is an accelerated planning workshop focused specifically on how to get a return on your investment in organizational and community resilience planning.

The Forbes Kay Parsons Charrette 2022 is an innovative approach to resilience organized by Nathaniel Forbes (Singapore), Robert Kay (Australia) and David Parsons (Australia). As far as we know, no one’s ever organized a charrette on resilience risks and opportunities before.

What’s a charrette? It is “an intense period of design activity… organizing thoughts from experts and users in a structured medium that is unrestricted and conducive to creativity and the development of myriad scenarios.” From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charrette

FKPC 2022 will be held on Sunday, 24 June 2012, at the Ontario Bar Association in downtown Toronto, Canada. Admission to FKPC 2022 is CAD $395.00, including lunch.  Participation is limited to seventy-five (75) people selected from the public, private and non-governmental sectors.

Sunday, 24 June is the Sunday before the World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM).  Read more... (646 words, 1 image, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)

3-day BCI Professional Certification Training
Last session in 2012
Tuesday – Thursday, 2 -4 October 2012
20% discount for first ten (10) registrations

This is Nathaniel Forbes’ highly-rated version of the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) prep course, intended to help BCM professionals pass the 125-question BCI certification exam. The course covers all six (6) practices of the BCM Lifecycle outlined in the BCI’s Good Practice Guidelines (GPG) 2010.

What are the six (6) BCM practices you must know to pass the exam?  Download Nathaniel’s free course brochure here, or email to Chris Tan at chris.tan@calamity.com.sg for your copy.

Click here for a copy of the BCI GPG 2010.

Because of his long experience teaching this course, Nathaniel covers all the material – plus his proprietary, real-world case studies – in just three (3) days instead of the usual five (5) days.

Why take BCI’s certification preparation course from Nathaniel Forbes in Singapore?
• Save time:  take just three (3) days instead of the usual five (5) days
• The highest-rated BCM instructor in Asia, year after year for 16 years
• More than BCM theory, Nathaniel shows you real-world examples
• 80%+ of the students who’ve taken this course from Nathaniel passed the exam
• Save money: Nathaniel’s course fee includes the USD 500 exam fee
• Watch Nathaniel Forbes’ introduction to our 3-day BCI training course
• Our No Fail Guarantee: if you don’t pass, you don’t pay again to retake
• Read the testimonials from our participants have to say about the course.  Read more... (416 words, 1 image, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

The Singapore Crisis Response Network (CRN) provides emotional support and crisis intervention for expatriates from all countries in a crisis. Started by the Singapore American Community Action Council (SACAC), CRN meets about five (5) times a year on the first Wednesday of a month.

If you lived and worked in a foreign country, what would you want or need after a disaster? CRN is thinking about:

You can find Crisis Response Network meeting announcements on the CRN Facebook page; while you’re there, “like” them. Better yet, volunteer. Contact Suzanne Anderson to register for training or to get on the mailing list.

A Singapore building warden will probably never squirt foam on an actual fire; why train wardens to use extinguishers in an office environment? So, drop the word “fire” and instead focus your wardens on their genuinely important responsibilities: evacuate, escape, assemble and account for everyone (“EEAA”). Dr. David Chew‘s ARIS Integrated Medical delivers realistic warden EEAA training: smoke, sirens, flashing lights, hollering, lots of confusion.

Check out this video of our exercise for TENET Insurance before the Singapore IWE in September 2011.

Spoiler alert: they hid a CPR dummy in a women’s toilet stall, and timed how long it took a warden to find the ‘victim’.

1. In 2010, 80% of the students who had Nathaniel as their instructor passed the exam on their first try. To help you pass, too, Nathaniel offers a ‘No One Left Behind’ Guarantee.  Watch the video to hear his guarantee.
2. Nathaniel packs the course with photos and case studies from his 15 years of BCM experience in Asia. You get ‘real world’ examples and sample documents you can use right away, plus the BCI’s universally-recognized theory that helps you pass the exam.
3. Nathaniel teaches the course in only three (3) days instead of the usual five (5) days, saving you time and money.
4. No other BCM certificate has the global stature and recognition of The BCI’s ABCI/CBCI/MBCI/FBCI certification hierarchy. Read what Nathaniel has written about ‘sub-prime’ BCM certifications.
5. You get Nathaniel as your instructor, an American with 15 years of on-the-ground BCM experience in Asia, not an inexperienced substitute teacher. Read some of the testimonials from his past students about Nathaniel.

It’s easy to register. Contact Chris Tan at chris.tan@calamity.com.sg, send an SMS text message to +65 9688-5000, or call +65 6324-3091 during business hours in Singapore.

Plus 5 MORE good reasons to take this course in Singapore, Tropical Paradise of Southeast Asia!  Read more... (410 words, 2 images, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)