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Clyde's Corner:
It's What We Do 
In our personal and professional lives we constantly seek purpose. We agonize over the myriad choices we have when thinking about our 'to dos' as they relate to family, community, friends, and neighbors. We are forever pulled in multiple directions and often must make tough choices about the direction in which we will ultimately travel.
In our lives as business continuity managers, the dilemma is similar. Do I satisfy the boss' most recent request, his last week's request, face the crisis du jour, address the staff member's family or home issues, write the status report (and dutifully fill in the red, green, and yellow boxes), review the results of the last exercise, complete the long overdue BIA, read that great article that a peer at another company just sent, provide feedback to the audit report (that wrongly associated you with a failure to properly foresee the future), have lunch with a colleague struggling to decide on his next career choice (or skip lunch entirely and hunker down for some well needed peace), run the errand that your significant other asked you do as you darted off to catch the morning train, do that required on-line data security class that was supposed to be completed yesterday, write the article for the latest edition of BCP news, prepare the PowerPoint presentation for the senior leadership team --- "Why do we Need BCP", or catch up on the 999 e-mail messages calling to be read (and hopefully and appropriately deleted with certain glee).
Our obligation as adults is to make choices, live by our choices, seek meaningful purpose, live our lives with integrity, follow through on our promises, and feel good when we know we did what was right. I, like you, am faced with choices and strive to live my life with purpose that I can be proud of. During the aftermath of Sandy I did small things. I chose to help my neighbors by cooking meals on the gas grill, helping to move downed tree limbs, calling and e-mailing the power company and local, county, state, and federal officials seeking their help and guidance.
As a BCP guy I spoke with particular clarity when finally in contact with our county legislator's office. I would like to think that this may have helped us get power back in only six days. I let them know what I thought the power company and municipalities were doing wrong and how they were putting seniors, children, and those with disabilities at particular risk and harm. I calmly articulated what they needed to do. They listened intently and promised to do what they could. I used my BCP experience and knowledge pre- and post-storm as it related to house, neighbors, and loved ones. Yesterday, I purchased a variety of products to donate locally to those in need. These are just small deeds of goodwill. My choice is to help where I can. True, it may be just small contributions, but it still feels right. I am sure you are doing the same and with enthusiasm, rigor, and compassion. BC folks understand what bad things can do. We are good at planning and even better at caring.
A little outage or harmless incident sometimes wakes us all up a bit - senior leadership, BCP professionals, and the communities alike. But this? Oh my goodness, we never want for this. When this happens we start asking ourselves where we should start. These choices are real. These choices and the work that follows are the real deal. React, respond, recover, restore. Life safety comes first and then the hard work of recovering the business and all the many facets that make it go come next. We go by instinct. We proceed based on practice. We do so because we feel that it is part of our purpose. It's what we do.
When pondering some of your choices, please do consider helping out in some way with Sandy relief or other relief efforts in your locale. Very soon we (DRI International and the DRI Foundation) will be providing news about how we would like you (our immense body of caring BC professionals) can mobilize and become a conduit for help and comfort to so many still suffering from Sandy.
Please volunteer to help where help is needed. As a nation of caring and giving people, we can make a difference in post-disaster assistance, pre-disaster helpful hints and protocols (to your community or local small businesses), or you can give to the charities of your choice. Please do.
Clyde Berger
cberger@driif.org
Director of Volunteerism and Vice President
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Attend Your Local ACP Meetings, We Do! 
Representatives of DRI International were pleased and proud to attend last week's Mid-Maryland ACP Chapter Meeting, where we met the great people pictured here: (from left) Ernie Bryan (ESI), Kathy Cashmark (Chapter Secretary) , Scott Steward (GWU Grad Student), Lt. Scott Brillman (City of Baltimore), Diana Eargle (Chapter Treasurer),and Jim Lewis (Chapter Membership Director). Many thanks to everyone who attended and to ESI for hosting the meeting.
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| Issue #40 | November 16, 2012 |
Greetings!
How about a Sandy success story? Well, DRI International has one for you! Did you know that we had a five-day class scheduled to start the Monday Hurricane Sandy was making her way north? And did you know that the class was in Manhattan? I did, but what I didn't know until yesterday is that the class was held as scheduled! Despite power outages and closed airports and the vast majority of businesses in the area being closed, two brave and motivated souls showed up for class on time. And what better time to learn about business continuity than when it's being put to use, right? That's what they thought, and I'd like you to meet them.
Kathy Croft, business continuity program manager with Cisco, made her way to New York from Raleigh, NC on Saturday. She has a daughter in the Big Apple, so she came up early and "had plenty of time to avoid the whole travel hassle." Croft says she "really wanted to attend the course. I've been working toward my CBCP certification, and I wasn't letting this stop me."
Mark Francis, who works in information security at Sageworks (also in North Carolina), had no family in town but says, "as long as everything was scheduled, I was game. My personal and professional schedule was such that I really need to get this training and learn and network." Francis says he feels the circumstances served to create an even more valuable learning experience. "It changed the dynamic of the learning situation. It was relaxed and intimate and really helped me get my hands around the concepts."
Class was held at the conference center on 23rd Street as planned on Monday, but as the weather worsened, plans were put in place by DRI instructor Robbie Atabaigi for class to reconvene in her hotel room for the rest of the week. Atabaigi also divvied up the leftover food (service for 12) among herself and the two attendees. That turned out to be a "smart move," according to Francis, who said "that was dinner and then breakfast the next morning."
Fortunately, the backup location (Atabaigi's hotel room) never lost power and Francis and Croft were both able to switch to locations with power after a couple of days. They found an Irish bar and deli that were somehow able to stay open and after class had front row seats to real-life crisis management and continuity.
For Francis, who is from a small town in Oklahoma, the trip was especially significant. It was his first time in New York City. Croft says she played tour guide as they sloshed through Herald Square. And Francis says he does plan to return someday. "I'm from a very small town and the city is just so bustling. I'd never seen a place so busy! You don't walk anywhere, you run. And there are crowds all over the place. Honestly, I don't know that I'd be able to tell the difference."
Francis calls the whole experience "really cool." I'd say the same of him, Croft, and Atabaigi. Really cool people who never lost their cool even in some pretty uncool circumstances. Now, that's continuity. Says Atabaigi: "We were resilient. We made it happen."
DRI International Director of Communications
brojas@drii.org
(610) 792-4802
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Wouldn't You Like to Be a Prepper, too? |
The new season of Doomsday Preppers starts this week. Are the "contestants" a little kooky? Yup. Would I want my daughter to date the 15-year-old prepper with a stockpile of canned goods and weapons? Nope. But it's a fun show that makes you think about preparedness. And perhaps that's how it might be useful to you.
Need to get the word out about BCP? Consider a Doomsday Prepper tie-in. Offer to evaluate your employees' preparations and plans (like they do on the show). Share this link to an online prepper quiz that will rate preparedness according to the show's criteria. Maybe even make a quiz of your own! |
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Songs of Sandy:
Gangnam Style, Taylor Swift, and LIPA?
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 | | LIPA Style (OFFICIAL VIDEO) |
 | | We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back our Power |
First, let's acknowledge the crews who have been working long hours to restore power to the post-Sandy Northeast. I saw trucks from several different states pitching in to get the lights (and heat) back on. And while we're all grateful, many who lost power for 10 days or more were also very frustrated. And a rare few channeled that frustration into something funny and creative.
The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is now the subject of two music videos. The first is based on country cross-over queen Taylor Swift's teen break-up ballad " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and is called "We are Never Ever Getting Back Our Power." The second takes BCP " Gangnam Style," with a take on PSY's viral hit called "LIPA Style." Enjoy! |
DRI International Awards of Excellence:
Nominations are Now Open!
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You are invited to participate in DRI International's Awards of Excellence Program and Awards Gala Dinner to honor individuals and corporations who are leaders and innovators within our profession. This event will recognize those who have achieved a level of excellence in the fields of continuity management, technology recovery (DR), and crisis management. The challenges associated with building a successful business continuity management program are many and we strongly believe that as a global continuity management training and certification organization, it is our duty to recognize and celebrate excellence. For a list of awards categories, click here. To nominate, click here. And here is a list of FAQs. The awards will be presented as the culmination of the DRI International Conference at the Awards of Excellence Gala Dinner to be held at the Downtown Philadelphia Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, on Thursday, June 6, 2013. Nominations are due by February 15, 2013.
To assure a fair and unbiased assessment of all applicants, we have established a process that allows for blind judging by senior industry professionals drawn from amongst the most highly respected organizations, to independently judge the nominees in each category.
For more information, contact the Awards Team by calling (866) 542-3744 or via email at info@drii.org.
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Want to Win a Galaxy Tablet?
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Register for DRI2013 now and your name will be entered into a prize drawing for a new Galaxy Tablet! You know you want to go to our second annual conference, to be held June 4-7 in Philadelphia, PA. So, why not register early to wrap up your travel plans and take a chance on winning a cool new tablet?
Here are the rules: Registration and payment must be received by December 1, 2012. DRI employees, board members, commission members, and DRI2013 conference presenters are not eligible to win. Drawing will take place on December 15, 2012, and the winner will be notified at that time.
Register today at www.DRIconference.com!
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| DRI Sponsors ASIS Charity Event | |
DRI International was pleased to be a silver sponsor of the Penta Cares and ASIS Long Island Chapter 6th Annual Charity Golf Outing benefiting the American Cancer Society.
"Without the support of our many golfers and sponsors, this event would not have been possible. With your help, we were able to raise just under $31,000 for charity. This brings our grand total since 2007 to more than $210,000 raised through events for very worthy causes," said event organizer Michele Verdino Ostler.
Who was in the DRI crew? From left: Clyde Berger, Al Berman, Chloe Demrovsky, and Canda Elgiz.
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