Blog
Four Vectors of Risk: The Threat Landscape in the Post-Pandemic World
Originally published on the International Association of Emergency Managers November 2021 bulletin. Written by Vanessa Mathews, CEO of Asfalis Advisors. The post-pandemic world presents four main types of risk to businesses eager to capitalize on pent-up consumer demand, but determined to protect their stakeholders and ensure their businesses remain resilient. In this article, I'm going to lay out what those risks are and explain what thoughtful emergency managers can do to help their organizations reap the rewards but avoid the pitfalls. Recently, I and other members of my team at Asfalis Advisors participated in a discussion with our friends at M Booth, the New York communications agency, about the risk environment for business in the post-pandemic
Stronger Together
This month Asfalis Advisors CEO Vanessa Mathews published an article in the CISO Magazine titled "Stronger Together: Effective Cyber Defense Requires the Crisis Management and Security Teams to Work in Concert." In the article, Vanessa outlines why it is so essential for organizations to develop internal partnerships and working relationships between the Crisis Management, Business Continuity, Physical Security, and Information Security Teams. Read the entire article here (Vanessa's article starts on p.13 of the pdf). You can also view the entire November issue and get the latest cyber security news and information on the CISO Mag website here. Vanessa was also a featured guest on the magazine's podcast last month,
Team Development Smart Practices
Originally published on the International Association of Emergency Managers September 2021 bulletin. Written by Dan Rector, M.S., CEM, Business Resilience Advisor, Asfalis Advisors. Introduction Leadership and team development are more art than science. The variability of human experiences makes it nearly impossible to assign a one size fits all model to them. What is seen as effective and engaging to one may be viewed as isolating and off-putting to others. While there is no magic button to leadership and team development, there are concepts that leaders can use to develop their style and techniques. These concepts must be delivered to team members through effective communication methods. Team Development
What is Crisis Leadership?
Over the course of my career, I have been asked to create disruption and chaos, in a simulated environment, to provide a greater awareness of leadership obstacles and opportunities. From sounding fire alarms to see how quickly employees evacuate; simulating hurricanes to see how facilities teams prepare and protect the organizations assets; facilitating disaster recovery exercises to measure how quickly technology teams can restore systems and minimize disruption; simulating CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) at airports with Customs and Border protection, to assessing how private aircraft carriers and law enforcement mitigate immediate threats to the public. Through experience and observation, I’ve learned leadership is discovered in action. In
10-Step Guide for Governments to Help Businesses Survive A Crisis
To say state and local governments have been overwhelmed with the onset of the COVID-19 and economic crisis and the long-term impacts of it, is an understatement. The response to reopen the United States in phases has created additional challenges with the pandemic recovery efforts, and people’s lives are at stake. As the federal government disburses trillions of dollars in recovery funding to provide some relief for families and businesses, local governments need to make proper investments with the resources. Many civic leaders are asking questions to help their business community: What resources do business owners need? How many businesses are prepared for another crisis? How can business owners keep
Crisis Management … What Can You do About Racism?
Welcome to episode #047 of the Business Resilience DECODED podcast with Vanessa Vaughn Mathews. Earlier this year, I published a podcast on Crisis Leadership that discusses the four principles every crisis leader should apply as crisis situations escalate. Many subscribers were able to immediately apply those leadership principles to better protect and serve their people during COVID-19. After the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis, we are sharing how crisis leaders can apply these same principles in your efforts to address racism and racial inequality in your businesses. This episode of the Business Resilience DECODED podcast discusses: Systemic racism that shows up
What is Business Continuity?
Most people who invest their time, talent and treasure into starting a company do not want it to fail. Over the years, you’ve poured resources into your organization and made countless sacrifices for it. Without a comprehensive business continuity strategy, a crisis can bring down what you’ve worked so hard to create. One of the outcomes of business continuity is to prepare organizations with longevity, to withstand both internal and external threats. What we know to be true at Asfalis, is preparing for risks leads to better outcomes than trying to fight a fire as it’s happening. In today’s business climate, there are threats that simply were not present in
What is Risk Management?
When something seems overwhelming, it feels easier to put it on the back burner. “I’ll get to it later,” you say to yourself. Hey, we get it. You know you have to understand—and address—the risks your company faces. But where do you start? You start with Asfalis Advisors. One of the most important services we provide at Asfalis Advisors is risk management. It might sound complicated, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. No matter what kind of business you have, every industry—and every product and service—comes with risk factors that can debilitate or wipe out what you worked so hard to build. Those risks include obvious things, like data breaches and supply chain
What is Crisis Management?
Ever heard the adage, “Forewarned is forearmed”? It simply means that when you understand potential dangers, you have a distinct advantage in tackling them successfully over those who do not. That’s at the very heart of what we do at Asfalis Advisors. Our purpose, every day, is to help leaders create or strengthen their legacy, globally. Most leaders want to build and leave a legacy, and we believe our efforts through risk mitigation, crisis preparedness and business continuity help to protect their legacies. Crisis Management systems we co-create position our client companies to be forewarned and forearmed. When it comes to crisis management, we focus on protecting your reputation, keeping
When All Else Fails Revert Back to your Core Values
When's the last time you made a mistake? How did you handle it? A couple of weeks ago a member on our team was introduced to someone and made a mistake by referring to them as their competitor. After the initial embarrassment, we knew we needed to apologize, and we had to be prepared for the relationship to possibly not continue. As our team member typed the apology, they remembered ... "when all else fails, go back to the core values." One of Asfalis values is to have integrity. So, they looked up how to show integrity and the internet came back with "take responsibility for your actions." That mistake