Adaptive Business Continuity is an approach for continuously improving an organization’s continuity capabilities.

The Adaptive Business Continuity Manifesto describes this approach. The heart of Adaptive Business Continuity is the improvement of capabilities. It starts with the premise that capabilities exist, to varying degrees, within every organization. With that understanding, we can break capabilities down into their component parts for the purpose of measuring them. There are lots of contributors to capability and many ways they can be broken down and assessed.

If you’ve come this far, then perhaps you already know what comes next: improvement. Within our measurements are the secrets to improvement. There are a number of things we can measure: resources, competencies, empowerment, strategies, capacity and diversity, to name but a few. Each of these provides an opportunity to improve. This means a wide variety of options exist and steps can be taken by just about anyone and at any level within the organization. Let’s explore….

Improvement as part of measurement

I have experienced, firsthand, how improvements can be realized simply by asking the right questions. When you inquire of someone whether all the resources they may need are readily available, the immediate response might be a no or that resources are limited. But this can prompt the responder to think more deeply following their response. As a result, they may choose to confirm if resources exist. If it is within their power, they may even obtain some of the resources they need. The next time the question is asked, improvement may have taken place in the interim.

The same is true for competencies, empowerment or other contributors to capability. There may be limited awareness, initially. But the questions themselves clarify what contributes to more effective response and recovery capability. As a result, users sometimes take it upon themselves to investigate and obtain what they now understand is important to readiness. This is one of the ways in which Adaptive Business Continuity is able to deliver value so quickly.

Depending upon your approach to measurement, opportunities may exist to clarify across multiple users which is, itself, an improvement. For example, one member of a team may believe that everything needed is readily available. Another member of that same team may have the opposite belief. This is a great opportunity to investigate and improve! Perhaps resources do exist and now the participant who was not aware can be properly informed. Conversely, it might be that someone has a mistaken impression that all the resources needed are available to them. Setting the record straight may not be an improvement but, by getting everyone on the same page, there is greater likelihood that future improvements will result.

Level One Improvement

Sitting back and letting the process drive improvement sounds great. But it isn’t going to move the needle significantly over time. For that, practitioners will need to step in. Fortunately, as with all things Adaptive, options are plentiful.

Yes, people and teams may take independent action to improve. But sometimes they need a nudge. This is the low hanging fruit within the improvement realm. And do not underestimate the progress that can be made with relatively little effort. Often, this entails a simple follow-up discussion. These can be great forums to review results, propose improvement actions, help connect the dots or simply provide encouragement. These are small steps that often lead to outsized results. When people better understand the components of capability and feel supported, they become agents in their own improvement.

Level Two Improvement

Sometimes greater degrees of involvement become necessary. Maybe the team isn’t understanding. Maybe solutions are elusive. Perhaps options exist but beyond the means of the team members to act on. This is where we, as preparedness professionals, can step in.

This can take a variety of forms. Perhaps more in-depth discussions with the participating teams are necessary. You may have to engage peers in human resources, finance, procurement or security to provide expertise or even to take action on behalf of participants. It could be that the resilience or business continuity function has something that can be offered – facilitating training or an exercise, for example. It might involve provisioning team members within a corporate notification or collaboration tool. Maybe bring other operations teams in to share improvement actions they’ve taken or to brainstorm with counterparts who are struggling. Perhaps you have budget dollars available to support improvement across several individuals or teams. I know that sounds facetious, but it can happen!

Our role in this space should not be to own improvement actions (though we may have to, on occasion). We should aim to lead people to where they need to go or leverage our internal network to the benefit of the teams we support. I have witnessed the power of merely bringing people together, posing a particular problem and then letting the resulting discussions play out. Our power rests not just in our competence within this space but the relationships we build and our ability to facilitate discussions and foster collaboration. Do not underestimate it.

Level Three Improvement

As with anything in business, when all else fails, we can escalate to leadership. The time will come when all available options have been exhausted or when the improvements necessary will exceed the resources of the teams, the resilience function or support services to take on. How you proceed can vary. As it should.

One approach is to go to leaders with a hand out. If you do, be clear about the initiative you propose, the anticipated benefits, and the cost or action request. This makes it simple but comes with the risk of a flat-out no. Conversely, one can provide a variety of levers to pull: 1) invest in the procurement of resources; 2) prioritize time for learning or exercising; or 3) clearly define and communicate authority. The value here is that each has a different ask in terms of dollars, action or prioritization. The result of any single decision can be presented in terms of the benefit it provides. Given the range of options, your chances of coming away with at least one approval are increased. But not guaranteed. Even a full rejection of all options should never be considered a bad thing. If you’re provided an audience with leadership, regardless of the outcome, you develop a better understanding of what you can do to improve your chances the next time.

Summary

I have done my best, in the spirit of Adaptive, to avoid being prescriptive. But I know there has been a desire for more concrete solutions and ideas for how professionals may execute in this space. So, I’ll end with a caveat. This is what has worked for me. Individual results may vary. I encourage you to be open to exploration and experimentation. Anticipate setbacks and be prepared to try new solutions when they occur. It only makes you a better practitioner.

Stay curious, friends!