The Boy Scouts of America have a timeless motto: “Be prepared.” These are words to live by. In the wilderness, if an individual has a pocket knife, a length of string, and some matches, he can deal with most emergencies that may arise. In business, however, a Swiss Army knife is going to do little good when a natural disaster or massive IT meltdown disrupts your operations, your people, and your financial results.

Interruptions in the supply chain, damage to inventory or property, temporary or permanent loss of critical personnel, and information security breaches are all major challenges to continued business operations. Fortunately, a framework exists to help organizations address and alleviate the most damaging repercussions stemming from these disruptions. ISO 22301—“Societal security—Business continuity management systems—Requirements,” was created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to address these operational challenges. It can be an effective tool, but like any tool, it only functions well if you use it properly.

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