The full quote, attributed to Greek philosopher Archilochus, is “We don't rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training”.
Once upon a time an executive team might have days, possibly weeks, to ponder a problem and develop a response. In the 21st century they have minutes to identify the problem, push out a holding statement and start responding. They need to provide updates to staff, customers, shareholders, markets, and regulators who demand that action is decisive, swift, and precise. Expectations are high.
Being decisive, fast and precise under pressure comes from practice. We fall to the level of our training.
What is the delta between the expectation and the proven level of training in your organisation? Here’s a clue: if you hear people say “In the real crisis our start is always a bit disorganised, but we do scramble well” it is possible that confidence exceeds capability.
A useful model for developing your organisation’s capabilities is Plan/Prepare/Respond/Recover.
Let’s look at planning and preparation.
You’re an experienced risk manager who’s analysed your organisation’s risks. Controls have been established to reduce the likelihood and/or consequence of a realised risk to as low as reasonably practicable – but not zero.
What happens when the risk is realised? Now what?
A response is required. The plan you developed will help.
Or will it?
How do you know it will work? Did the assumptions you made in planning hold true? Will the resources you planned for be available? If you are not there, will anyone know what to do?
The critical bridge between “Plan” and “Respond” is “Prepare”. Preparation is the glue that holds the plan, and the people using it, together.
Deloitte published a useful paper in 2018 titled Stronger, Fitter, Better: Crisis Management for the resilient enterprise.
Perhaps the most pertinent observation is that while executive teams reported confidence in their ability to respond, the rate of exercising to confirm that preparedness was low. Interestingly, the most obvious risks with the most obvious solutions were the ones people practised.
For example:
1. IT System failure: 90% of respondents confident in their response and 50% had undertaken simulations
2. Cyber-attack: 89% of respondents confident and 53% had undertaken simulation
In comparison, 88% of respondents stated they were confident to handle a corporate scandal. But only 17% of respondents had conducted an exercise using such a scenario. Similarly, the results for regulatory/policy change were 89% confidence but only 25% had practised managing such a crisis.
Deloitte posit that confidence outstrips preparedness. We agree.
Is your organisation practising the easy stuff, like problems where there’s an obvious, technical solution? Compare your organisation’s risk profile to its recent crisis exercises. Are your exercises related to the risk register?
The Deloitte study suggests that executives are more comfortable participating in an IT Disaster Recovery-related crisis or a cyber-breach response. Why are they less comfortable to participate in a corporate scandal scenario?
Perhaps they think such a crisis is a Black Swan. Some of our clients have said their executive is uncomfortable or believes it’s too difficult to deliver these scenarios in an exercise.
To the first point: Yes. It is (and should be) uncomfortable. If it is on your organisation’s risk profile it is something of concern. Would your CEO and Executive Team prefer to be uncomfortable in an exercise or under-prepared for reality?
With respect to being difficult to deliver, that is why you use an external provider like Tigertail. Designing plausible and realistic exercises requires special skill and experience. In our collaboration with you we develop:
opportunities for your crisis management team to practise using procedures and tools in the context of a complex problem
a safe environment to practise using procedures and tools
a collaborative environment for your executive and subject matter experts to test assumptions, recognise and manage biases
an exercise that is as controlled or dynamic as you choose
assessment criteria to inform an exercise report and assure the Risk and Audit Committee
Well-developed and run exercises validate your plans, reinforce good practice, refresh memories and rehearse responses. Your people, and your bottom line, will benefit.
Tigertail Australia has the background and experience to equip your organisation with skills to manage risk, crisis, and emergencies confidently and effectively. The Tigertail team includes crisis and emergency management leaders, business continuity specialists, risk management advisors, planners, and trainers with more than 150 years of combined experience, covering prevention and preparedness to response and recovery.
Author: Craig Moroz
W: www.tigertail.com.au T: +61 2 8907 1900 E: craig.moroz@tigertail.com.au
TIGERTAIL AUSTRALIA: CONFIDENCE / CLARITY / CONTINUITY
SA Water Executive Team Crisis Management Training and Exercise
