Catherine Jordan Consulting

Our newest addition, little Miss Annie, making working from home and peer revision just a bit sweeter. If only she could write the plans for us…

Situational Awareness is critical when responding to or recovering from business disruptions, regardless of their type or scale of severity. You cannot effectively plan or make informed decisions if you do not understand the whole of the situation.

When a disruption occurs, ask yourself:
- What’s occurred?
- What’s the cause?
- What has been impacted/disrupted?
- Is this a localised disruption (internal) or a broader outage?
- How long can we sustain this impact?
- Are there any other factors that can further impact us?
- How does the disruption to our operations impact other parts of our business, customers or suppliers?
- What do we need to do to get our operations back up and running?
- What resources do we require and what’s available?
- How much time will this take?

“Awareness is one of the greatest things you can possess in this life as it is as important as the very air we breathe and water we drink to stay alive.”
- Victoria Erickson

We can sometimes be so focused on achieving the perfect outcome, the strategically-designed, flawless process that it actually prevents us from reaching any sort of milestone or establishing a baseline to improve on in future. That focus on perfection can be just as disruptive to our progress as an actual interruption to our business operations.

When implementing continuity measures, start small and celebrate your little wins. Begin with simple changes like documenting some of your day-to-day processes. By creating simple checklists or workplace instructions, you can help to ensure that your staff are able to undertake their required tasks correctly and efficiently.

Don’t aim for “perfect”; embrace your progress and let it drive your work.

“We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” — Michelle Obama

Well, last weekend I did exactly that with a quick beach getaway with the family. After a very busy few months with work and life commitments, it’s amazing how some waves, sand and salty air can refresh our mind, body and spirit.

What helps you reset and refocus?

There is a sense of strength that emerges when we demonstrate our ability to respond to difficult situations and adapt our systems and processes to suit the change in circumstances.

Is your business disruption ready?

What does “continuity” look like for your business?
• Continuity of knowledge and expertise
• Continuity of data and records
• Continuity of finances
• Continuity of essential services and critical functions
• Continuity of information/situational awareness
• Continuity of relationships with key stakeholders/suppliers/customers.

How will you ensure continuity for your people and operations?

"Do not wait: the time will never be 'just right'. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command; better tools will be found as you go along."
— Napoleon Hill

Not sure where/how to begin your business continuity journey? Send us a message or check out our website for more information.

Did you know that only 1 in 4 Aussie businesses has any sort of preparedness plan, let alone one that is current?

Be disruption ready. Know your risks. Plan ahead.

Morning motivation:
“Success at anything will always come down to this: focus and effort, and we control both.” —
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

To all past and present, thank you for your service and your sacrifice. We remember you this ANZAC Day and every day.

Here’s a quick way to suss out your BCP needs.

Love starting the work day with a bit of sunshine and motivation to get stuck in and get things done ☀️

“You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.” — Alan Alda

Preparing for potential business disruptions doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Break the planning process down into small steps and work through them at your own pace:
- Identify your risks.
- Identify your critical business functions/services.
- Consider how long you can cope without those critical functions before your business feels an impact.
- Develop strategies for responding to and recovering from disrupted operations.

Remember: little steps lead to big progress.

Want to know more? Send us a message.

Happy Easter! We hope you’re all enjoying a relaxing weekend with friends and family.

One for every exhausted working adult. Absolutely brutal.

Business disruptions can occur for a variety of reasons; however, the type of disruption generally boils down to only a few different scenarios.

Do you know which disruption scenario is most likely to affect your operations?

Implementing continuity measures doesn't need to be complicated.

Start with simple changes like documenting some of your day-to-day processes.

By creating simple checklists or workplace instructions, you can help to ensure that your staff are able to undertake their required tasks correctly and efficiently.

Interested, but looking for some guidance? We can help. Contact us to see how we can assist your team.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE meeting proactive teams, who are genuinely interested and invested in enhancing their knowledge, capability and overall capacity?

This was definitely one of those mornings 🙌🏻

//PLANNING SNAPSHOT//
For those working in business management and administration services - here’s a little taste of what your planning process might look like.

*Remember - your responses will vary based on your industry and individual operations and needs.

Want to learn more? Send us a message or visit our website.

To my fellow women - we’ve got this 💪🏻

Wrapping up a busy week and savouring every bit of that morning cuppa ☕️ Happy Friday!

YES 👏🏻 Willingness to learn from others, to acknowledge what they bring to the table in the form of knowledge, skills and/or experience is absolutely essential if you want to grow as an individual and a leader in your chosen industry.

Ask curious questions. Think outside the box and consider “What If?”. Have the courage to seek assistance or input from others, and encourage your staff to do the same. There is NO shame in learning.

So, are you willing?

Ask yourself: What does your business rely on to function effectively?

Is it your people (staff/contractors/volunteers)?
Is it your equipment or systems?
Is it availability of stock/supplies?
Is it essential services or utilities?
Is it word of mouth from your customers on how they view your brand?
Is it support/services other businesses provide to you?

What would it mean for your business if you had to go without these services/resources?

Consistency is key when it comes to meeting the expectations of your customers. How do you ensure you can continue providing high-level service delivery in “business as usual” times versus in times of disruption, whether it’s due to reduced staffing levels, unavailable supplies, faulty equipment or services being offline?

Now is the time to start considering how you will go about continuing your operations or reinstating your critical functions if they do become interrupted.

We all love to reach the end point for those challenging or time-consuming tasks. We love to produce that ideal outcome that we‘ve seen in our minds since we began that complex project. However, it’s not about achieving or producing perfection. It’s about the purpose and the process we undertake to carry out the task and the knowledge and experience we gain from it that expand our skillsets, strengthen our resolve and broaden our perspective on the work we do. Don’t aim for “perfect”; find your purpose and let it guide you in your work.

When clients cc: you into their referrals to other business friends 🙌🏻

The Queensland Government are reaching out to small businesses affected by Tropical Cyclone Kirrily to gather information about the impact of this severe weather event on their business.

The details you provide will be utilised by government to inform recovery and resilience plans.

➡️ Take the online survey at https://brnw.ch/
21wGtgl

Some of the support and assistance available to small businesses from the Queensland Government includes:
▪️Support for your mental health and wellbeing including free one-on-one wellness coaching to help with your unique personal business challenges
▪️Financial counselling
▪️A range of advocacy services including informal resolution and mediation for lease and retail tenancy through the Queensland Small Business
Commissioner’s office.

➡️ Find out more on the Business Queensland website: https://brnw.ch/21wGtgl

‼️Upgraded to Category 3‼️

Updated 2:58pm

Townsville Disaster Information page

Every time 🫣

In all seriousness, prepare your homes and businesses. Stay up to date with warnings and stay safe. A Cat 2 cyclone is no joke.

Visit Council’s Disaster Dashboard for all the latest advice.
🌀disaster.townsville.qld.gov.au