Watermark says "confront your black swans"

A fundamental and ongoing responsibility of leaders, managers, and executives is to plan for, and deal with, the unexpected. This includes the kinds of scenarios that, even if unlikely, could have a severe impact upon sustained business operations and enterprise survivability. Recent natural disasters, cyber-attacks, corporate and employee integrity issues, and high-profile, active-shooter events are driving home the critical need for preparing for a major crisis to both the government and businesses.

So, why are so many businesses and organizations unprepared for the unexpected? One reason: it’s human nature to avoid deep contemplation of worst-case scenarios. Most of us would likely define ourselves as optimists or realists — and probably not say we’re dyed-in-the-wool pessimists. No one likes to think about bad things happening to them.

A new program just announced by Watermark Risk Management aims to help businesses develop effective crisis response and business continuity protocols: it’s called Focus72. It distills six decades of military best-practices in planning and training to survive and continue operations under true worst-case scenarios. It provides an affordable and easily implemented and lasting approach for executives who need to prioritize their people and clients and want to be better prepared for the unknown or unthinkable.

Watch this video to learn how it works:

Watermark’s New Focus72 Program Enables C-Level Leaders to Prepare for and Recover Quickly from Crises and Disasters

The Focus72™ crisis-response and business-resiliency program provides an agile, affordable, and lasting protocol for executives who must prioritize their people, assets and clients. The program is designed to help businesses and organizations become better prepared for the unknown or unthinkable.

FAIRFAX, VA (April 11, 2018) – Watermark Risk Management International, a provider of expert-led security and risk-management consulting services, recently launched a new crisis-response and business-resiliency program optimized for any business or organization that wants to be prepared for today’s evolving array of potential operational disruptions, crises, and disasters. By focusing on the crucial first 72 hours of a crisis and capitalizing on the investments an organization has already made in management development, Watermark’s new Focus72™ program enables executive leadership to prepare for both the initial crisis response, and to successfully formulate the actions necessary to mitigate damage and support an expedited recovery.

Recent and highly publicized natural disasters, cyberattacks, corporate/employee integrity issues, and even active-shooter events have alerted leaders in government and business to urgently consider and prepare for a wide range of potential crises. As both the type and frequency of such threats evolve, leaders are now expected by stakeholders (including employees, customers, partners, and taxpayers) to demonstrate a commitment to crisis planning and business resiliency. Watermark’s Focus72 program is the answer to this need. The Focus72 program distills six decades of military best practices, as well as a myriad of lessons learned in private sector corporate management, planning, training to survive, and continuity of operations after a brand-altering or reputation-damaging event.

Watermark designed the Focus72 program as an agile, flexible, fast-start alternative to traditional approaches.  Dr. Jennifer Hesterman, Watermark’s vice president of business resiliency and education services, and a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, said, “The Focus72 program aims to instill a culture of preparedness into any organization.  Focus72 provides an affordable, easily implemented and lasting approach for executives who prioritize their people, assets and clients, as well as those who want to be better prepared for the unknown or unthinkable.”

Watermark’s Focus72 program quickly delivers meaningful benefits for C-Level executives

Focus72 emphasizes leadership tools and preparation over the traditional approaches of exhaustive and static checklists, elaborate plans, and databases. By taking a more agile approach, the program delivers leadership and staff tools that are ready to employ at roughly 30 percent of the time and cost of traditional continuity programs. The Focus72 program employs proven key elements of traditional crisis response and business continuity planning but emphasizes executive and middle management involvement early in the process to expedite deployment and reduce costs.

“The Focus72 program offers C-level executives who are committed to being prepared, a programmatic, training-based solution that provides value well beyond traditional crisis preparation,” said Kevin Hodges, president of Watermark. “The program includes training on how to handle common operational disruptions that businesses deal with on a regular basis, and also identifies and prepares for the brand-altering events and risks that could massively disrupt the business or organization for weeks or months.”

ABOUT WATERMARK RISK MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC
Watermark, a Veteran-Owned, Service-Disabled Small Business, is a full-service risk consultancy that helps government, public, and private clients identify, understand, and address the risks faced in every aspect of their business. Watermark’s highly experienced staff provides expertise on assessments, program and policy development, implementation planning and change management, training, education and professional development, as well as quality assurance and program auditing. In addition, Watermark offers the Focus72™ program, a unique crisis-response, business-resiliency, and leadership-development program. Watermark is recognized for providing exceptional value by focusing on the appropriate balance of risk and operational business objectives. For more information about Watermark, please visit www.wrmi-llc.com.