Contemplating ...

… perception risk (where you stand determines what you see)

Ken Simpson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:30:25 +0000

In the past week I have read two different reports on the major risks facing the international business community in 2012. The two reports are; World Economic Forum's Global Risks 2012 Business Continuity Institute's Horizon Scan 2012 The two reports reflect some different risks, and certainly convey very different scopes and perspectives. This should not be a surprise given the nature of the different or... Read more..

… the week that was

Ken Simpson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Another week has come and gone with no new material published here, so time for a quick review of what has grabbed my attention via the news-feeds, which these days includes Twitter and Facebook as well as RSS. There were some significant items in the newsfeed over the past 10 days, and four specific items I want to highlight. First was the tragic news of the Costa Concordia. A very difficult situation for the passengers, crew and their families, which is not improved by all the editorial discussion and conjecture about cause and bl... Read more..

… even breakfast has become complex.

Ken Simpson — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:55:08 +0000

Our lives are becoming increasingly complex and recently the challenges of complexity even disrupted my favourite Canberra breakfast spot, Silo Bakery. Silo was found to have Read more..

… Chatham House rules!

Ken Simpson — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:45:27 +0000

The UK Chatham House 'think tank' has come to the realisation that "Just in Time" models put companies at risk - by reducing their resilience. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="368" caption="Courtesy ; The Guardian"][/caption] Always good to see these groups wake up and smell the roses! However it will be interesting to s... Read more..

… Anticipation and Adaptation

Ken Simpson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:40:17 +0000

Yesterday I wrote about the tension between Planning and Adaptive Capacity as a differentiator between traditional BCM and resilience. Today I am going to explore this aspect further, and start a series that will explore some other dimensions on which we could map resilience. [caption id="attachment_4307" align="alignright" width="445" caption="Diagram 1"] Read more..

… planning and preparedness are not the same thing

Ken Simpson — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

There is a discussion on the 'BCM & Risk' LinkedIn Group (sorry, but this is a members only forum - free to join), where the original question posed was;

"Do you have a plan or are you being prepared? do you reckon these are two side of the coin or same but different words or what?"

Frankly, I found the discussion uninteresting, the usual type of contributions, often contradictory - plans are the mo... Read more..

… 3 words for 2012

Ken Simpson — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="450" caption="Photo Credit - Tatooed JJ"][/caption] First day of the working year here in Australia. Thought this would be a good day to outline the 3 words that I hope to use as a focus for my research and writing this year. Last y... Read more..

… another year over, and a new one just begun

Ken Simpson — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:34:40 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Photo Credit - sir_watkyn on Flickr"][/caption] 2011 brought us more evidence that we cannot predict all our risks. If you don't believe me, check out the risk registers of News of the World/News Corp, To... Read more..

… the circle of life

Ken Simpson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:43:08 +0000

A reflection on the personal aspects of life today, rather than the professional. This is a photo of me with my new grandson, Blake Edward Simpson, who was born today. Mum and Bub doing well, even Dad seems to recovering and Grandparents are coping well also. Will make for a richer Christmas this year! Back to commentary on the doom, gloom and disaste... Read more..

… resilience and innovation

Ken Simpson — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Friday was the final day of the Organisational Resilience program at the Australian Emergency Management Institute. Just like Days 1 and 2 it did not disappoint. Day 3 started with a presentation by Dr Robert Kay from Incept Labs. His presentation addressed the theme of innovation and some early research insights on how CEO's view the subject. Again the session is rendered so much more useful when you also have the opportunity to discuss these ideas with the presenter at... Read more..