Business Resilience Decoded is a multimedia partnership between Disaster Recovery Journal and Asfalis Advisors to educate, inform, and inspire business continuity professionals globally. Resilient organizations thrive because of the knowledge, preparation, and foresight of listeners like you.
Episode 167: The Culture Shifts That Will Increase Employee Retention & Profitability
Today we are joined by Vanessa’s friend, coach, and mentor: Ron Harvey, the VP and chief operating officer of Global Core Strategies & Consulting. Harvey and his team work with leaders to develop strong work cultures within their organizations, build diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and retain top talent. In this episode, Harvey is sharing his expertise on the culture shifts that will increase employee retention and profitability.
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
Our core values are the GPS for the people in our organization. They are more than pretty words on a website; they are the guide from where we are to where we want to be as a company.
2024 is already starting as a tumultuous year from global and political perspectives, but the best thing we can do as leaders is listen. If we can stick to the company's core values and listen to each other, we can move forward together.
Culture is how we behave, and how we behave impacts our bottom line. If you want to improve your profits and retention, pay attention to your culture.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: Workplace culture, leadership skills, DE&I, diversity and inclusion, profitability, core values, retaining talent
Episode 166: The Impact of ESG on Business Continuity
ESG – which stands for environmental, social, and governance investing – is a way for investors to evaluate risk and social responsibility before investing in companies. In this episode, we’ll be sharing some specifics of ESG, how it can affect your organization’s business continuity practices and decisions, and why you might consider becoming an ESG-compliant organization.
Source: Global Risk Management Institute: What Is ESG?
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. ESG investors want to put their money into companies that are making a positive impact in these three areas.
The policies that fall under ESG have been highly politicized, which has made companies hesitant to implement new policies. However, investors still want to see these impactful policies in place, regardless of the political landscape.
Millennials and Gen Z highly value companies who have ethical business practices and support social causes. They want to work for companies who are making a positive impact, no matter the industry.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: ESG, environmental impact, social impact, org structure, DEI, ESG investing, ethical company, recruiting, retaining talent
Episode 165: Best Practices to Land Your Next Big Role | Resumes, Interview Tips, & More
If you find yourself looking for a new role, you might be wondering how to set yourself apart in the application and interview process. Enter Kim Hooper, an HR manager for Asfalis and an award-winning security professional with more than 20 years of experience at companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon. In this episode, Kim is sharing her best tips and practices for polishing your resume, nailing the interview, and more!
Resources mentioned:
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
Always do your research on the company before your interview. What are their core values? Are there opportunities for community engagement within the organization? Write down the questions you have about the company, and bring a pen and paper to take notes.
Keep your resume simple and easy to digest. Avoid templates that are so detailed or stylized that you forget to remove placeholder text, and don’t try to create a super colorful resume to stand out. It’s way more important that it’s legible and quick to scan.
Pay attention to your digital footprint. Clean up your social media, make sure your email address and social media handles are professional, and maintain an updated and active LinkedIn profile.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
Episode 164: Should Brands Take a Political Stance?
In 2024, we are entering election season, which in the U.S. has become more and more divisive over the last several years. In this episode, we are going to dig into whether businesses or brands should take political stances on divisive issues, and how you can choose to navigate this going into 2024.
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
There are two ways to approach conversations about politics at work. One, if a conversation is not going to be productive, then maybe the workplace isn’t the best place to have it. And two, is it going to cause harm to have that discussion?
What are your company’s values, mission, and vision? If your brand takes a political stance, can it be backed up by the company values? If there’s not a connection, it can cause problems.
Safety can be a factor with taking a political stance. It’s important to consider if taking a strong stance on something could result in workplace violence or threats to your employees.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: politics, election year, risk management, workplace safety, workplace culture
Episode 163: The Joy of Metrics + Training the Next Generation of Professionals
Metrics are a huge factor in business continuity and allow us to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of our strategies. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Bernard Jones, professor of homeland security and emergency management at St. John’s University. Throughout his career, he’s worked in several industries, including tech and data, healthcare, security, and higher education.
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
It’s really important to keep track of the key metrics within your organization, but measuring effectiveness comes down to how well you’re executing the BCP, and is senior leadership included in the conversation?
Executive engagement is mandatory as a part of any continuity program. If they’re not bought into the plan, the processes, and the protocols, you don’t have an effective program.
When it comes to leading the next generation of emergency management professionals, it’s important to understand modern and future impacts on the field, such as retrospective studies of the pandemic, and the effects of climate change.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: emergency management, homeland security, Gen Z, next generation, business continuity metrics, business continuity
Episode 162: Artificial Intelligence in Business Continuity | Use Cases, Risks, and Our Favorite AI Tools
At the recent DRJ conference in Phoenix, the topic everyone wanted to talk about was AI (artificial intelligence). As tools like ChatGPT become more mainstream, the conversation is shifting to how we can actually use these tools in our industry. In this episode, we’re sharing some of the ways we’re using AI in our business, and how you can better leverage it as a tool for your own business.
AI Tools:
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
Different AI tools can do different things. ChatGPT is great for coming up with ideas and written copy, but if you want to summarize or pull the main bullet points from a report, you can use a tool like Claude which can take in PDF files.
With ChatGPT, you may be tempted to ask generic prompts like “give me social media topics for a business continuity brand” or “produce a business continuity plan for XYZ,” but the more specific you can be with the prompt, the better the responses you’ll get back.
Make sure you don’t use any personal or private information, and be careful about importing documents that aren’t publicly available or contain sensitive information. Always get input from your security team before using any AI tools.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
Episode 161: Supply Chain Resilience in the Wine & Spirits Industry
Supply chains continue to be a trending topic, and in this episode, we’re digging into managing and troubleshooting supply chains for the wine and spirits industry. We’re joined by John Liuzzi, the national director for business continuity for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, who is running a “dream team” of business continuity professionals in his industry to share his insights, plus how business continuity challenges differ in the public vs. private sectors.
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
Some of the top challenges John’s team is planning for include natural disasters, product availability, and inflation affecting pricing and sales.
They have tools to track everything, including weather all over the world since that can affect manufacturing and shipping, and social media mentions of their brand as well as their suppliers’ brands.
Having executive support is crucial for the success of your business continuity team. When the financial support and full trust is there, you can build an unstoppable business continuity program in your organization.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: Wine and spirits, beverage industry, business continuity, risk tracking, business continuity tools, supply chains
Episode 160: Leadership Risks You Need to Prepare For
Leadership is a major factor in how smoothly your emergency management and business continuity plans are created and implemented, so in this episode, we are sharing some of the top leadership risks to prepare for in order to have a stronger team. The article Vanessa references for this episode is from Forbes on “Navigating Leadership Challenges in a Rapidly Changing World.”
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
Your ability to manage and regulate your own emotions during a crisis is crucial. According to Forbes, “EQ is so effective that the overall success of the business can improve by 37.2% in the first year” of improving EQ across leadership.
We need our teams to be rested, ready, and responsive during a crisis, which means we need to be invested in their wellness. Create wellness programs and incentives, invite guest speakers to speak to nutrition and fitness, and encourage workers to take breaks and time off.
Not being proactive about social issues is a major risk. You want to be clear on your stances before you are forced to make a statement or response, and you need to be able to point to your mission, vision, and values to back that statement up.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: Leadership, risks to watch, business continuity, leadership trends, emotional intelligence, training, social justice issues
Episode 159: Wildfire Preparedness and Emergency Management
While the top disaster threat in California is still earthquakes, wildfires have gotten a lot of attention over the last few years. We’re seeing wildfires affect more of North America recently, so in this episode, Leslie Luke, the deputy director of the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office at the Office of Emergency Management, is here to share his expertise. Leslie covers the training and exercise objectives, communication skills, and community education that are all needed to prepare for and fight wildfires.
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
One of the biggest parts of wildfire preparedness is educating residents and the community about evacuation preparedness, which includes telling people to have their important documents and belongings ready to go as soon as they’re told to evacuate.
Many of the natural disasters hitting California are “no notice” events, so emergency management teams are reacting to them. That means training and exercises will revolve around evaluating the disaster and making decisions as quickly as possible.
From an emergency management standpoint, the jurisdiction wherever the fire originates is responsible for mitigating the fire. Teams should be ready to step in and help a smaller jurisdiction if asked.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: Wildfires, emergency management, disaster preparedness, california wildfires, climate change, environmental justice
Episode 158: How Prepared Is Your Business? | 5 Metrics & KPIs You Should Be Tracking for Business Resilience
We’ve spent years helping businesses rethink how to measure the effectiveness of their resiliency program. In fact, we have a 200 question input form that examines just this. While this podcast episode is not long enough to share all 200 questions, we’d like to offer five metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) you can use to help you assess your business resilience.
Some key takeaways from this episode include:
What gets funded gets managed. When you can show how certain risks and initiatives are being reflected in a profit & loss statement, you’ll be able to get buy-in from leadership to closely track those initiatives and get more funding to support them.
Track your implementation. Do you have clear lines of authority and succession defined? Are procedures in place and are they communicated so that information can move across your organization?
What is your organization’s public information system, and do you have a crisis communications team or point of contact? How information is distributed to the public during and after a crisis is crucial for managing that crisis, and for your reputation.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: business continuity, business resilience metrics, key performance indicator, program assessment, program evaluation, preparedness training
If your team is running exercises where everyone is just going through the motions, you’re missing some key blind spots in your processes. In this replay episode, Rick Christ, a senior consultant at Crisis Prevention and Response, Inc. and a FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner, lays out his seven deadly sins of crisis management exercises. From focusing on shiny objects to exercising too big, Rick covers the mistakes you might be making and how to avoid each one moving forward.
Resources mentioned:
“The 7 Deadly Sins of Emergency Management,” presentation by former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate
Some of the key takeaways include:
Many times, we do exercises to make us look good, instead of exercising to failure. We need to make sure we’re conducting exercises that show us our blind spots and shortcomings so we can make them better, not so we can practice what we already do well.
Focus on small scale drills and functional exercises. When you’re running through an entire scenario, it takes forever to organize and you lose a lot of opportunity to fine tune the details. Run one section of the scenario several times, and iterate on it each time.
Looking at your risk assessment regularly is what will keep you on top of the game. It will show your capabilities, what you need to focus on in exercises, and how the news and weather are going to affect your business that day.
Connect with the podcast!
Email us: [email protected]
Vanessa Mathews, host
Vanessa Mathews is the founder and chief resilience officer of Asfalis Advisors, where they are focused on protecting the legacy of the leaders they serve through business resilience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mathews developed global crisis management and business continuity programs for government and private sector organizations to include Lowe’s Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Jon Seals, producer
Jon Seals is the editor in chief at Disaster Recovery Journal, the leading magazine/event in business continuity. Seals is an award-winning journalist with a background in publication design, business media, content management, sports journalism, social media, and podcasting.
KEYWORDS: emergency management, disaster preparedness, FEMA, disaster training, scenario exercises, crisis management
Your feedback is valuable to us. Should you encounter any bugs, glitches, lack of functionality or other problems, please email us on [email protected] or join Moon.FM Telegram Group where you can talk directly to the dev team who are happy to answer any queries.