The Resilient Journey

Welcome to 2025! What are your plans as we head into the new year? What do you hope to accomplish? What risks or threats do you have your eye on? This week’s guest tells us how to plan out the year, and what to be paying attention to. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 166 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by Anesis Consulting Group! We kick off the year with longtime Risk and Resilience professional Dan Bailey who covers two main topics in this episode. First, Dan provides valuable insights on how we should plan the work for our risk and resilience programs. Then Dan tells us about five key risks and threats that we should be paying attention to. And he makes it personal – by giving us advice that will help us advance our careers. As for the check-the-box mentality, Dan says we should “do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do”.     Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about Anesis Consulting Group here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

For many the holidays are a time of reflection. And the same can be said for us at the Resilient Journey podcast. That’s why we want to take a few minutes and reshare some of the most memorable and compelling moments of 2024. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 165 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week we are revisiting seven episodes from 2024. They are either the most popular episodes (in terms of downloads and online listens) or they have a compelling story to tell. We’ll hear from Lindley Gooden, Kristin Torres, Frank Shultz, Regina Phelps, Chloe Demrovsky, Jason Hoss and Mark Armour. We’ll cover everything from misinformation, to secrets of a good resilience program, good messaging, polycrisis, the perfect elevator pitch and we’ll even discuss if we need business continuity plans. 2024 was a heck of a year. Have a listen.     Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

On December 4th, UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was tragically shot and killed outside a Manhattan hotel. The incident has raised questions about the adequacy of corporate security protocols. And this week’s guest is a subject matter expert. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 164 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week we want to talk about corporate and executive security in the light of the tragic shooting of Brian Thompson. We are joined by Doug Farber, CEO of a boutique security consulting company called Horsepower Advisors. Doug and Mark talk about the need for situational awareness, the importance of using predictive intelligence and why security must be something we think about around the clock. Doug explains his all hazards approach to building a security profile, and discusses his use of people, process and technology.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

In 2010, BP CEO Tony Hayward faced backlash for saying, "I'd like my life back," during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis. His comments are seen as the gold standard of what not to do in crisis communications. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 163 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. We have a very unique episode this week as we are joined by veteran news reporter turned media trainer Sean Mallen, who absolutely grills Mark during a mock press conference. In today’s episode, Mark pretends to be an unprepared company spokesperson facing the media after a very public cyber attack. Early in the episode Sean warns about spokespersons “facing a grilling” and being in for a “hard ride” – and that’s exactly what he gives Mark. Tune in to find out how quickly things can go off the rails.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

Ronald Reagan’s famous quote, “trust, but verify” captures the balance between faith and caution. It reminds us to value trust while backing it up with evidence. When we think about risk and resilience, this week’s guest tells us the same thing. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 162 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week we revisit the relationship between risk and resilience by welcoming special guest Donna Speckhard. Donna and Mark talk about emerging threats that you and your organization should consider as we head into 2025. Donna explains how her own diversity of interests helps make her a better resilience professional. Then, she and Mark talk about third party risk and the importance of understanding what our key suppliers have in place in terms of plans, procedures and training.  And, she says “trust, but verify”.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

This week’s guest takes a very simple approach to a complex problem. He gathers information about your business and then uses gaming software to build plausible threat cases to simulate an attack on your business. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 161 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week we are joined by AJ Leece, Managing Director of Brekade – the business resilience arcade company that builds software to allow organizations to run complex and informative exercises. AJ tells Mark that our industry fails to understand how people learn and explains his two very popular video games: Phishing Expedition and Incidents and Accidents. Brekade helps organizations understand the impact when people, process or technology fails unexpectedly. And for AJ, it comes down to one simple goal – protecting how your company makes money.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

In what is arguably the best television show ever written, Aaron Sorkin captured the spirit of a White House and a President. The show was The West Wing. The President was Jed Bartlett. The phrase that was repeated over seven seasons was “What’s Next?”. Today, many of us are asking the same thing. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 160 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This is an episode that every risk management, business continuity and crisis management professional needs to hear as we welcome long-term political advisor and crisis management expert John Ashford back to the podcast. John and Mark talk about the pending change in Washington with Republican control of the Oval Office and both houses of Congress. John offers an intentionally balanced view of what’s next – as it relates to tariffs, deregulation, infrastructure and the new administration’s impact on Ukraine and all of Europe.     Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

They say you can’t improve what you don’t measure. So what do we do? Maturity assessments? KPIs? Metrics? How do we translate all of this information into an effective story. What does good look like for your organization? Stick around and find out. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 159 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week, we discuss  the ‘why, what, when, and how’ of program measurement and maturity assessments with industry veteran Stuart Murray. Stuart emphasizes the importance of telling your story by reporting on what truly matters to your executive team. He explains that simply counting completed BIAs or updated plans doesn’t convey the full picture. Instead, he highlights three key areas of effective measurement: completeness, quality, and compliance. Stuart reminds us that having complete plans doesn’t necessarily mean they are of high quality. Plus, Mark explores the KPIs that executives prioritize, setting the stage for a future episode.   Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

This week’s guest calls himself a thorn in the side of the resilience industry. He doesn’t believe in documented plans, leveraging Mike Tyson’s quote – “Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face.”   Simply put, heeees baaaack! Hello everyone and welcome to episode 158 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week, resilience antagonist Mark Armour joins the podcast to talk about how to prepare and empower organizations without using documented business continuity plans. He believes organizations can have a great deal of capability without a plan. For him, our industry focuses too much on documentation and not enough on capability. Mark and Mark talk about the difference between plans and planning.  And they discuss the difference between capability and compliance.     Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.  

The last several weeks of the 2024 hurricane season have been devastating for many in Florida and Georgia. Hurricanes Helene and Milton have seemingly popped up out of nowhere, leaving destruction in their wake. Hello everyone and welcome to episode 157 of the Resilient Journey podcast, presented by the Resilience Think Tank. This week, we’re happy to be joined once again by meteorologist Staci Saint-Preux who talks about the 2024 hurricane season. Did it meet expectations? How can powerful storms like Helene and Milton form quickly and still be so powerful? She reminds us why it’s so important to listen to weather experts when bad weather is approaching. She provides some advice to those responsible for business continuity and crisis management when it comes to weather related events. And, Staci explains what Storm-Geo is all about.     Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.