Strategic continuity planning: the first critical step.

Many companies (and business continuity professionals) believe a company needs a comprehensive, all-inclusive business continuity plan. Often they reach this conclusion after other companies or potential clients have requested to see their business continuity plan as a precondition of doing business. Companies without 'a plan' are then tempted to go out and hire a business continuity person and tell them to 'Create a plan!' This makes perfect sense to the executive team, but this approach will probably not work in a real event. This paper addresses the shortcomings of producing tactical documentation and calling it 'The Plan', and discusses ways to engage management in the development of a corporate strategy to be used during and after an event.