Business continuity is not the same as crisis management

Any organisation which imagines that a business continuity plan makes them ‘crisis prepared’ is due for a big and costly surprise.

Because business continuity is just one element of strategic crisis management, and failure to recognise this reality can leave you dangerously vulnerable to operational and reputational risk.

Part of the problem is confusion over terms – business continuity planning, crisis management, business recovery, incident management, emergency response, risk management, crisis prevention, crisis preparedness… the list goes on. But the risk is not just definitional. The real danger is putting a business continuity plan in place and then starting to relax – imagining that your organisation is ready to face a crisis.