BCM is like having sex with the lights on

It’s not to everyone’s liking, but it gets the end result

I know you’re probably surprised anyone would have the audacity to put business continuity management (BCM) in the same sentence as sex?

Talking to a client I have the (not that sort of) pleasure to work with and I was trying to provide an analogy for achieving a more resilient organisation. The client — who’d always supported the need to have BCM arrangements in place — was having trouble really convincing the rest of the organisation of its value; in respect of investment, time and its purpose. So (don’t ask me how the idea came to mind, but…) I used the analogy above to try and break it down

Walk on by

It was clear that, like a great deal of organisations and leaders, my client’s people got ‘turned off’ by the (often) long-winded ‘foreplay’ involved in describing BCM as a process and a value, using the traditional, official definitions. I don’t know about you, but as soon as I hit the ‘h’ of ‘holistic’ people think it’s some sort of therapy treatment and ‘the moment’ has gone to woo them further. Time is precious. To get to the next stage of the ‘romance’, I’m not convinced the traditional definitions are sufficiently ‘sexy enough’ to keep them interested. They walk on by so to speak and you’re left a little frustrated

Get Up (like a sex machine) sang James Brown

As bold as it may seem I used the ‘sex with the lights on’ analogy to describe people’s attitudes and preferences to BCM. Now this immediately caught the client’s attention. Like I say, I don’t know why I used this comparison, but it seemed fitting to try and de-myth the dark world BCM is sometimes seen as

I truly love and enjoy BCM. I understand it. I work in the BCM industry. And (I like to think) I’m pretty great at it. But sometimes the long windedness of the definition even turns me off! Does it do the same for you? Or are you genuinely excited by ‘a holistic management process that identifies potential…..’? Hello! Can you hear me?

Love Shine a Light

Here’s why BCM is like having sex with the lights on.

To some, having sex with the light on is the only way

If you like seeing what you’re doing… which way you want to go… which way you’re going… and who with…, then it’s for you. It’s your preference. Maybe even in your DNA. You can see the potential risks, the hazards, the threats and you can reduce the impacts of such issues should they occur. You get from A to B (hopefully) successfully and you’re resilient. Well done. A shining light in not just ticking the boxes, you enjoyed doing it (I’m talking about BCM now by the way), and you’ll do it again. To some, there’s no other way of doing it

Glenn Miller

To others, keeping the lights on feels uncomfortable and not very romantic

It doesn’t get you or your organisation — as Glenn Miller’s band famously played — in the mood. Leaving the lights on is not worth it. I don’t want to do it, I can’t do it. I don’t need to do it. In respect of BCM, that’s a deresilient attitude. One of the 7 key principles that defines a leader who denies or depresses resilience

Keeping the lights on, may expose (pardon the pun), the organisations weaknesses and points of failure. There’s nothing in it for them to do that. Forget the hopefully exciting outcome at the end for everyone concerned. To some, BCM and keeping the lights on — when being romantic (or passionate) — just doesn’t work. And even before you get down to the bitty gritty actions involved in the BCM step-by-step process, you missed getting in the mood because your chat up line involved talking about the ‘holistic management process… ‘

They’re already thinking what time do we finish? What’s for dinner? And what is that on my shoe?

De-myth some of the mystery

Having explained my theory and analogy of BCM to sex with the lights on, my client not only found the story amusing, it de-mythed the preconceived attitudes towards a subject that may be sexy to some, but to others, is a turn off and gives them a headache!

It may have been risky to use sex as a comparison, but I wasn’t trying to be clever or smutty

It was about giving an example that, with the lights on or off — whatever takes your personal or organisational fancy — the outcome hopefully remains the same

Either practice will appeal to some and be disliked by others. BCM is no different. To some it’s the very element that underpins the organisation to carry on through any challenging event and be successful. Others are either not interested, or they won’t touch it with the proverbial barge pole

Can’t get you out of my head

Despite my personal love of the industry, I’m not saying BCM is the sexiest thing to have walked this earth. It may not even be the first and last thing I think of each day. But to successfully lead resilient organisations, that want to be well prepared and remain competitive, then BCM is a must do rather than a nice to have. It actually doesn’t matter if the light’s on or off. It really is a matter of preference and appeal

We need to find new ways of making BCM appeal to wider audiences. Not just target the ones who find it attractive already. How can we appeal to the new organisations and leaders?

We don’t need to dress it up in expensive clothing and fancy words; the secret is in using more plain simple language, explaining what it is and what it does in a way that turns everybody on

Jargon, acronyms and scientific descriptions — in most cases — won’t cut the mustard when you’re trying to woo someone into getting the job done. And by job done, I don’t mean sex, I mean BCM!

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