Future Proof your Career
The theme for Education Month 2022 is ‘Future Proof Your Career.’ If Business Continuity is your chosen profession, then I firmly believe that you should embrace it, and make sure that you keep up with the latest trends and thoughts.
If you are happy to work 9-5 and do no extra work or reading outside that time, then perhaps you should consider another profession in which you have more interest. I am very passionate about business continuity, its allied professions, and I spend a lot of time learning and reading, probably more than most! However, I strongly feel that if you find something you are reasonably good at and enjoy, why not try and be the best you can at it? For Education Month, I thought I would share some of the ways I keep myself up to date.
Google Alerts
I think these are a brilliant way to give you a list of the latest news in the business continuity world. I, of course, don’t look at everything the alerts bring up, but it does highlight new articles and posts on the internet over the last 24 hours.
My alerts are:
- Cyber Incident Management
- Incident Management
- Operational Resilience
- Business Continuity
- ISO 22301
I think you have to take people's achievements and bragging with a pinch of salt, but again it’s a great way to gain information on the different conferences people attend, new documents that are published, and in-depth details of incidents. LinkedIn is also quite good for competitor analysis, as you are able to see what companies are selling, and often who they are selling it to, just by looking through their posts.
Podcasts
If you have to commute to work or have a long journey to make, a really great use of that time is to listen to podcasts. At the moment, I am listening to the story of the Aberfan Disaster, a coal spoil tip that happened in Wales in 1966 and killed 114 people, most of which were primary school children. It was a little harrowing to listen to on the bus on the way to work, but there are some really good lessons to be learned and lots of interesting contrasts to the Grenfell Fire, which I have also listened to in podcast form. Below I have listed some of the podcasts I recommend, they are all BBC Sounds unless otherwise indicated:
- Aberfan: Tip Number 7
- The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast
- When the Dust Settles (Aftermath of Incidents) by Lucy Easthope
- Things Fell Apart (Comms) by Jon Ronson
- So You've Been Publicly Shamed (Comms) by Jon Ronson
- The Hack That Changed the World (Cyber)
- End of Days (Waco Siege)
- The Lazarus Heist (Cyber)
Films and Videos
I am not that keen on films and videos, but I think sometimes they are a useful way to see what Hollywood makes of disasters. I am presently watching the Netflix documentary series ‘Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet’.
Books
I love buying books, however, I often read the first few chapters and then get bored. I sometimes wonder if the books aren’t written well or if my attention span isn’t great. Whenever I read a book mentioned on LinkedIn or get given a recommendation, I put them on my Amazon wish list straight away. If I ever win the lottery, then expect a box of about 60 books to be delivered to me. At the moment I have to put up with them being delivered to me every so often. My last five bought and partially read books are:
- Crisis Counsel: Navigating Legal and Communication Conflict by Jaques PhD, Tony – Good stuff on crisis comms.
- Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Voss, Chris – A bit self-help but some interesting insights on hostage negotiation.
- Black Propaganda: In the Second World War by Stanley Newcourt-Nowodworski – Couldn’t get into it.
- Cyber Wars: Hacks that Shocked the Business World by Arthur, Charles - Some useful case studies.
Training, Seminars, and Conferences
I love a good case study and presentation. With the world opening up after COVID, I think there is a pent-up demand for getting out and meeting people. Have a look at the BCT catalogue of courses, there is always something new for you to learn! However, if you like consuming information and learning, I think the most important thing is that you keep moving forward with your knowledge!
Learn more about Education Month 2022 and upcoming webinars:
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About the author
Charlie MacLean-Bristol
Director, BC Training Ltd
