There is nothing within the Adaptive Business Continuity Principles which requires the definition of priorities or objectives for recovery.

This does not mean that work within the Adaptive world cannot be prioritized in some fashion. Just not for recovery purposes. It feels logical to assume that what is important today will be just as important tomorrow, after the storm passes. But experience and evidence strongly support the contention that priorities will change and that new priorities will have to be adopted in the face of complex and chaotic circumstances. This means that one does not have to consider importance to the organization when determining where to start on their Adaptive Business Continuity journey.

There are several factors one can consider but I believe there two that matter most.

What Matters Most

1. Leadership

The primary driver for our work should be leadership’s direction. There may be specific parts of the organization that require focus. This could be driven by revenue, strategic priorities, risk, past failures, audit findings or known gaps and areas of concern. The justification should not be the concern so much as the awareness that there is an expectation, by decision-makers, that some portion of the organization will receive more immediate attention. If such an expectation exists then you have an obvious place to start.

2. Engagement

Barring specific direction about where to focus, the next consideration should be what works for you, the practitioner. The start of this process is where you will learn the most. This means that changes will undoubtedly be necessary. Problems and failures could also arise. For this reason, it makes the most sense to start where you have the greatest degree of engagement and support. The areas of the organization most willing to participate in the learning process and experiment along with you should be your initial areas of focus.

When Improving Capabilities – Keep Two Things in Mind

The primary driver for assessing capabilities is to improve them. There will almost certainly be plenty of opportunities to do just that, making it necessary to determine what improvement actions to prioritize. I say, start where the picking is easy. This means anything that can be done with minimal effort and little or no cost. Your goal is to improve, not to improve in a specific manner or to a certain degree. Avoid committing to specific levels of improvement and you can take small, incremental steps in the satisfaction of that goal. The big challenges will always be there.

It is not uncommon for improvement to occur even without the involvement of the practitioner. Intervention may become necessary but there is no reason it should require significant effort. As mentioned in the previous article, sometimes all that is needed is a nudge, a little encouragement or a suggestion. Just as there is a multitude of contributors to response and recovery capability there are many, many paths to improvement.

Just keep two things in mind:

1. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Remember that capability existed even before you started this process and that you are only looking to improve. Making changes gradually and incrementally is the best way to ensure those changes stick. Go too quickly and you may end up having to revisit past improvements because they were not properly socialized or practiced. This leads to the next thing…

2. Check your progress.

You are in unchartered territory and organizations are complex systems. The actions you believe will result in improved capability may not have the outcome you expect. Particularly if you go too fast or don’t allow changes to be properly internalized. In addition, making multiple, simultaneous changes means they can interact in unexpected ways. If capability does not improve or goes down, it will be difficult to determine which change or combination of changes had a negative effect.

It can be tempting to act fast, particularly when you have a number of relatively easy improvements you can make. But slow and deliberate has its advantages. Today’s environments change at a quick enough pace as it is. You can expect to revisit many improvements due to turnover or other changes in the environment that can negatively impact the progress you’ve made. Anticipate setbacks but don’t lose heart.

When More is Needed

Sooner or later it will become necessary to take more significant action. This means you are past the point of letting improvement take place organically or with minimal effort on your part. From this point on, deliberate action is needed in the form of: requesting budget for resources; ensuring time is available for practice and learning; getting initiatives off the ground; or defining and communicating authority.

At this stage, we should remember that we have not prioritized services. Nor should we. There may be multiples actions that can be taken to improve capability. Rather than prioritizing the business service, improvement actions themselves should be prioritized. This is particularly true when action can be taken that improves capabilities across multiple services. When viewed this way, our efforts are not segmented by service, department or team but, instead, by the relative cost and benefit of the initiative itself.

This is, once again, an important opportunity to engage. The managers of the teams and departments you work with are in the best position to determine what actions will provide the greatest benefit. Cost decisions will be driven by whomever has the appropriate budget authority. If that means going further up the management chain, then your responsibility is to act as an advocate for line-level managers, supervisors and front-line staff. But also listen to leadership. Provide levers for them to pull and be willing to step back and let priorities emerge.

Priorities don’t necessarily reflect what is most important. It could be that hard dollar investments are a lower priority since funds are limited or needed elsewhere in the organization. Leaders may wish to take the least obtrusive steps, initially, in order to see the improvements that result before taking action that requires greater effort. This is an ongoing and evolutionary process, and we should be willing to trust in it as a means to continuous engagement. As improvements are realized, they should be shared as proven practices elsewhere in the organization and with leaders as evidence of the value being delivered.

As time goes on, there will almost always be initiatives that do not move forward due to cost and effort. As other, easier work efforts are undertaken, there should be ample opportunity to share results. Over time, events may occur which demonstrate the capability that exists and the positive impact the program has had on outcomes. These should always be used to escalate discussions. Where data exists to justify investments and to move the program further, it can be used to engage further up the management chain. Not every request will be approved but these are still opportunities to share information as well as to learn.

When the Event Comes …

Not all teams, departments and functions will have the same level of capability. In addition, disruptive and disastrous events will always come with unpredictable consequences. This is why additional resources, support and focus may be needed during an event to speed or improve recovery for specific parts of the organization. That’s the nature of our discipline. The impact of any event is going to be unpredictable. Our work should not be about anticipating every possible outcome for the purpose of defining specific response and recovery strategies. Our work should be about boosting the capabilities the organization already has while enabling it to operate in a nimble, reactive fashion. Defined strategies are one small part of that and the execution should not be driven by a script but by the resources available and the competence of the teams tasked with execution.

Teams, departments and divisions, plus the services they cumulatively deliver, can always be recovered given enough time and resources. If we’re doing our jobs effectively, we can demonstrate the benefits of improved capability in reducing the pain and difficulty of dealing with disruptions. Ideally, we help teams to obtain and better leverage resources. We ensure time is made available for learning and practice. We help leaders to build and demonstrate trust and to clearly define authority so individuals can take the initiative when called upon to do so. The net result is that teams will respond independently and in parallel with one another when faced with unforeseen losses. When we relinquish control and act as collaborators and facilitators, we empower the teams we work with to take charge of their own preparedness and recovery. This becomes a force-multiplier in effective response.

Summary

The capability assessment and improvement process is an opportunity to continuously engage. We should treat it that way. When engaging those on the front line, this means providing them with an understanding of the contributors to response and recovery capability and where individuals can take accountability for their own improvement. At the middle-management level, this is about setting expectations and coordinating efforts across teams. For leadership engagement, it is about providing data that can be used for additional consideration in defining strategic objectives and activities. Each is an opportunity to demonstrate value and contribute to better outcomes.

Stay curious, friends!