Episode 227 - Because They Knew Their Stakeholders - with Stephanie Craig

If you are a risk, resilience or crisis management professional, you might think that the most important thing you can focus on in 2026 is AI. But this week's guest says there is something far more important. She says, we need to be focusing on our stakeholders.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 227 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are joined by Stephanie Craig, owner, President and CEO of Kith - a Crisis Communications Firm. Stephanie and Mark talk about the importance of understanding not only WHO our stakeholders are, but having a deep understanding of what's important to them. Stephanie explains that the company owns the brand, but your stakeholders own your reputation. And, your reputation is what people are saying about you when you're not in the room. Mark reminds us that we as risk, resilience and crisis management professionals also have an individual brand, and we all have stakeholders that we need to focus on.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

They say the first ten words in a political debate can kill you. They are the tip of the spear. But it's the next 10-15 words that really matter, because they tell you HOW we're going to get things done. These are the next 15 words on AI.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 226 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are joined by Sarah Mohrle, an AI expert who has been in the software engineering world for 25 years. Sarah tells Mark that too many companies are going about AI deployment in the wrong way. They are looking at the tools they want to use BEFORE looking at the business problem they're trying to solve. She talks about the importance of the quality of our data and what tools are ethical. The bottom line for Sarah, and for us as resilience professionals, is to make sure our executives walk into the debate fully prepared.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub!   Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.     We want to offer a tip of the cap to Aaron Sorkin and The West Wing for the inspiration for this week's episode.

This week's guest says the biggest barrier to AI transformation might be that we don't include our people in the design process. He says it's important that we build supporters, not saboteurs.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 225 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are joined by globally renowned AI Futurist Steve Brown. Steve and Mark talk about if AI is a bubble (Steve says no). They talk about a claim made by Anthropic's CEO that an "AI tsunami" is coming in the form of human level capability and the fact that most people aren't prepared for what comes next. Steve talks about using AI to elevate human work and the ethics behind its use. Finally, Steve offers his views on the crawl, walk, run approach to AI deployment.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

Have you ever written a resilience report and presented it to your executives or the Board, but no one read it? This week's guest says there's one reason it's not being read: It's because the report isn't relevant.    Hello everyone and welcome to episode 224 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are joined once again by resilience entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrea Davis. Andrea and Mark talk about resilience program governance and reporting. Andrea explains that we struggle with governance because we don't have a seat at the table and we're not seen as part of the operation of the organization.  Andrea explains that we must know our organization and must be able to articulate risks using language the executives will understand. And she says we need to stop whining about how important we are and start reporting with confidence to showcase our relevance.    Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

This week's guest says he's concerned about the societal impact of AI. He calls it an asteroid that is coming for us and we need to harness its power. And without question, AI is the biggest change in the threat landscape.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 223 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   We're happy to be joined this week by Ed Gaudet, founder of Censinet, a SAAS risk management solution for the healthcare industry. Ed says that he believes in the near future, people will lose their jobs to AI. He adds there is power in AI, but there is also peril. Ed and Mark talk about how today’s threats are different, and that leaders need to be transformative. He says it’s time to tear down the silos and start looking at business processes horizontally. People, process, and technology all need to be connected. Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

This week's guest says we need to be careful if our focus is on our status indicators always showing green. If having a green dashboard is more important than your resilience capability, you could be at risk of sleepwalking into a crisis.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 222 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are joined by resilience industry icon Terry Downing. Terry catches us up with some of the excellent work he's doing writing articles on LinkedIn and his new podcast - "Resilience By Default". Terry and Mark talk about why business continuity and operational resilience programs fail. He emphasizes the need for senior executive leadership engagement. And he says that a green dashboard isn't the sign of resilience, it's the sign of fear. But Terry doesn't leave it there - he provides great advice for what we can do about it.   =============================================================== Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

Are plans useless? This was the question that this week's guest set out to determine based on a lot of feedback he had been receiving. What he found was, Dwight Eisenhower had it right. Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 221 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are joined by Patrick Lechner, founder of Resimate, a resilience SAAS solution. Patrick explains that plans don't save us; clarity does. He says that coordination is the thing that breaks first during a disruption. And that we must develop our capabilities, to understand what's important and to build clarity. And Patrick doesn't just provide theory, he also offers practical advice for how to make this happen.   ===============================================================   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

Every once in a while at the Resilient Journey, we change our schedule. But we never do it unless there is a very good reason. This week it changed because, as our guest says, geopolitics is a hot topic in Boardrooms everywhere.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 220 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we welcome a very special guest as Chloe Demrovsky rejoins the podcast. Continuing our conversation last week with Regina Phelps, Chloe and Mark talk about Greenland, the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and geopolitics in general. But this isn't just a conversation about politics. It's a "so what" moment for resilience professionals. The key part of this episode is when Chloe explains what all of this means to our industry and what we as resilience professionals should be doing about it.   =============================================================== Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

Here at the Resilient Journey podcast we get a lot of requests from people to be on the show. But when an industry icon and a friend of the podcast says she wants to come back, the answer is an immediate yes. You won't want to miss this.   Hello everyone and welcome to episode 219 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we welcome Regina Phelps back to the podcast. Regina originally wanted to talk about the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report - and why it matters to us in resilience. But in addition to that, she wanted to touch on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech in Davos. Regina says, "If you think about how businesses run, you will realize just how much we are impacted by what's going on, on the world stage." If you're a US based company and do any work or get any supplies outside the US, things are going to change. And as resilience professionals, that matters.   ===============================================================   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

If you work in resilience, you know the drill: information comes at us nonstop—news, chats, webinars, newsletters. But the real challenge isn’t keeping up; it’s figuring out what to do with all of it. Hello everyone and welcome to episode 218 of the Resilient Journey Podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group!   This week we are absolutely thrilled to be joined by resilience consultant Sherilyn Burris. Sherilyn is the creator of a newsletter called This Week in Resilience - a "too long; didn't read" look at news and information in our industry. But most importantly, Sherilyn helps us understand what to do with the information. She and Mark talk about the top five things we need to consider as we navigate 2026, including supplier continuity and understanding the complexity of our industry.   ==================================================== Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Check out the Resilient Journey Hub! Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.