KingsBridge Blog

On August, 27, President Obama declared that September is National Preparedness Month. In this proclamation, President Obama stated “we stress the importance of strengthening the security and resiliency of our Nation through systematic preparation for the full range of hazards threatening the United States in the 21st century, including natural disasters, cyber attacks, pandemic disease, and acts of terrorism. “

At first glance as a business owner you most likely see the relevancy and immediacy of the situation. Being aware of the need for your business to be prepared in times of disasters and threats such as terrorism attacks, natural disasters, and the like has become a necessity rather than a “nice-to-have”. So as you read about National Preparedness Month, you might be wondering – okay, well I’m already prepared:

- I’ve done my due diligence with a Threat Risk Analysis
- I know what the biggest risks to my business are thanks to the Business Impact Analysis
- thanks to the knowledge of industry-leading consultants and disaster recovery/business continuity experts I have a plan
- all of my employees are on board with the plan and we’ve thoroughly tested it
- I even have a free iPhone/iPad application, Phoenix Mobile, that lets me be protected wherever I am

All this leads to the question – why should you care about National Preparedness Month? Well, the simple answer is – look around you. Your business is protected – but what about your home? How about the business down the street? What about your suppliers? Have you thought to ask your customers if they’re ready to face a disaster or threat?

Exactly, being protected in times of disaster and emergency, goes beyond your office and employees. We need to focus on getting everyone on board with disaster recovery and business continuity. Remember threats and disasters don’t have to be large to be a problem. A leak in the water system at your child’s school, a school bus that gets lost or is late on the way home from school, your home WiFi network goes down and you can’t stay in touch with your family members, or what if your biggest client experiences a flood. These are all things that can and will ultimately affect your bottom line and more importantly the quality of your life.

So what can you do to get others on board with National Preparedness Month? First of all, visit the two websites referenced in President Obama’s proclamation:

- http://www.ready.gov/america/index.html – this site has excellent information for individuals and businesses
- http://citizencorps.gov/ – excellent resource to learn what you can do as an individual citizen

The next thing you can do, is poke around this blog  - we’ve done our best to explain to you what the impacts of not being prepared are. Read about our experiences – both professional and personal and how we at KingsBridge are ensuring that we’re ready to face disasters and threats head on.

Finally, spread the word. Forward this post to your colleagues, your partners, your competitors, your family members, your neighbors. Work together to truly get America protected. There is a hurricane broiling off the East Coast right now – think of all those people who aren’t ready at home or at work… Really, it is up to us to embrace this proclamation and do what we can to be prepared.

If it’s happened once – it can happen again….