63: Crisis Plans: What They Are and Why You Need One with Rob Burton

Many businesses have a crisis on their hands. It's not the threat of a devastating event that should have them worried. It's the lack of planning for when it does. 

In this episode of the podcast, I’m speaking with Robert Burton. Rob is the Managing Director of PreparedEx, where he leads a team of crisis experts who prepare organizations to be more resilient to the myriad risks they face and is also co-founder of The International Crisis Management Conference.

If you are responsible for ensuring your organization is prepared for any crisis or significant event, then this episode is a must-listen. Rob offers critical guidance for preparing a response to the threats that can crop up in your industry.

• [4:55] Rob’s crisis management experience.
  Rob tells us a little bit about his military background in the UK, contract work, and move to the United States 17 years ago. Learn how Rob has been able to and adapted these skills and bring discipline into the board to help organizations prepare.
   
• [8:12] The types of exercises Rob facilitates.
  From table-top exercises to functional exercises, and full-scale exercises that require multiple teams to communicate during a simulated exercise, find out the different ways Rob helps organizations feel confident in their crisis response abilities
   
• [12:11] Planning for the unknown unknowns.
  The plans that Rob helps put into place are like a set of tools to get the team organized in the case of an event. Learn about the importance of utilizing the crisis coordinator to work through these unknown emergency situations.
   
• [16:17] The transformation that comes from having a plan.
  Rob tells us a story about how, after a 6-hour simulation session with a client, they experienced a similar scenario in real life about five months later. Because they followed the procedures they learned from Rob, there was substantially less chaos during the actual event. Find out how adding more discipline to their reaction strategy lead to more calm in the real-life crisis.

Mentioned on the episode: 

• Connect with Rob on LinkedIn

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