The plan was written to tick a box. It sits in a shared drive, and the people who would need it have never opened it.
Independent consultant
Business continuity and crisis management.
I'm Chris and I've spent my career dealing with things going wrong, first as a detective and then running business resilience and crisis management for one of the world's biggest companies. Now I work independently with organisations of every size. I find the gaps before they hurt you, build plans your people will actually use and help you keep a cool head on the day.
Sound familiar?
Where things usually fall down.
Most organisations have a continuity plan somewhere (or not...). Far fewer have checked it would hold up on a bad day. The gap between what the document says and what really happens is where the damage is done, and closing that gap is what I do.
Your leadership team has never had to make a hard call together, under pressure, with half the facts missing.
When something goes wrong, people wait for someone else to take charge and the first hour slips away.
A key supplier, system or person you depend on, and nobody has noticed until the day it fails.
Customers, staff and the press hear about it before you have worked out what to say.
Past incidents were patched up and forgotten, so the same problems come back.
Services
What I do.
You work with me directly, start to finish. I work to understand your business so that everything we build reflects the work you do, is fit for purpose, and something your people can pick up and use.
01
Business Continuity
Work out what really has to keep running, what it depends on and how fast you need it back. Then build a plan that is actionable and clear enough that people actually use it.
02
Crisis Management
Set up who decides what, how you escalate and how you keep people informed, so your team knows exactly when and what to do and have the confidence to do so.
03
Scenario Exercises
Realistic practice runs for your leadership team tailored to your business with an honest debrief afterwards. The goal is to identify gaps and build capability.
Approach
How I do it.
Step 01
Find the gaps
I look at how you really operate, what you depend on, your regulatory obligations, and where a bad day would hit hardest.
Step 02
Fix what matters
We build actionable plans and roles sized and specific to your organisation. Nothing bloated.
Step 03
Keep it fresh
We run regular reviews and scenario tests with your leaders, so the business stays ready and plans stay up to date.
About
About me.
I started out as a detective in the UK, working serious organised crime cases that crossed borders. Most of my career since has been spent on the other side of that, keeping organisations running when things go wrong.
At StoneX, a Fortune 100 financial services firm, I led the business continuity and crisis management team covering eighty global offices and six thousand people. Later I founded OctopusCRX, a cyber resilience consultancy working across Asia Pacific and Europe, where we helped companies implement effective GRC programmes and build the capability to respond when a crisis hit.
Whilst I still act as a Director and strategic advisor for OctopusCRX, I now run my own practice, helping organisations across Australia and New Zealand get ready for a bad day. I have a master's degree in intelligence and security studies and am a member of the Business Continuity Institute.
Working with me you'll get an honest picture and practical help.
Contact
Get in touch.
Tell me a bit about your organisation and what's on your mind. I'll get back to you myself, and everything stays confidential.
Or call me on
+61 422 363 528