This keynote was presented in an event hosted and organized by both freelancer.ph and iAcademy last December 10, 2013 at iAcademy, Makati, Philippines. Disaster proof your business and livelihood in easy simple steps using Project Management basics.

1. 12/15/2013
Disaster-proof
your business
for SMEs, Startups & Freelancers
Speaker
Jeremy Jay V. Lim
CSSBB, PMP, BPM, IATA
Objectives of the Keynote Talk
 Discuss what disaster-proofing is about
 Illustrate disaster-proofing for your business with
simple easy steps using project management basics
 Share tips and best practices of disaster-proofing
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2. 12/15/2013
Why does it matter?
“Natural Disasters are becoming the New Norm!”
–Anonymous
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Business Loss due to Disaster
www.philstar.com, 2013
Business Owner defending
his store from looters
www.philstar.com, 2013
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3. 12/15/2013
Natural Disasters in the Philippines
2000-2012
Source: Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) of US Foreign Disaster Assistance and CRED International Disaster Database
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What is Disaster-Proofing?
Disaster-proofing is about anticipating harmful,
calamitous events which may likely happen.
A disaster that may happen is called a
"Disaster Risk"
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4. 12/15/2013
What intensifies a Disaster Risk?
CONTROLLABLE
Lack of Planning
Lack of preparedness
CONTROLLABLE
"Building Resilience - Integrating Climate & Disaster Risk into Development", World Bank Group, 2013
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Some Terminologies
Vulnerability Ability to recover from a disaster
• Disaster-proofing lessens vulnerability
• Ex. Disaster Risk Reduction planning and Business Recovery
planning
Exposure
Chance of being affected by a disaster
• Preparedness lessens exposure
• Ex. Weather monitoring
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5. 12/15/2013
How do you
Disaster-proof
your Business?
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Manage disaster risk according to stages
PRE
DURING
Goal
Goal
PREPAREDNESS RISK REDUCTION
POST
Goal
RECOVERY
Success Criteria
Success Criteria
Success Criteria
100% Ready to Respond
Drills conducted
Evacuation Plan in place
Worst Case Scenario plan
Minimize Impact
Minimize Damage
All Plans executed
Full Recovery to Normal
Recovery Time achieved
Business Continuity
Disaster-proofing is proactive
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Use Project Management Process
INITATING
PLANNING
EXECUTION
CONTROLLING
CLOSING
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Project Management Process
(for Small Businesses)
Initiating
• Should I do it or not?
• What can I get out of it?
Planning
• What needs to be done?
Execution
• Have I done everything needed?
Controlling
• Is everything according to my plan?
Closing
• Have I met my objectives?
• Did I get what I want?
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Disaster-Proofing Process
for your Business
PRE
INITIATING
DURING
PLANNING
EXECUTING
RISK
REDUCTION
POST
EXECUTING
RECOVERY
CLOSING
CONTROLLING
Where the goal is to be able to run your
business continuously immediately after a
disaster with minimal loss or damage
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Disaster-proofing Process
(for your Business)
Initiating
• Should I do disaster-proofing for my business?
Planning
• What needs to be done to be disaster-proof?
Execution
• Have I done everything that was planned?
Controlling
• Did everything go according to plan?
Closing
• Have I fully recovered from the disaster?
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8. 12/15/2013
Initiating Disaster-Proofing
Initiating
• Should I do disaster-proofing for my business?
General Steps
 Think of a Compelling Reason (Business Case) for DisasterProofing your Business
 Jot down your initial thoughts (charter) for Disaster Proofing
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Charter
What is at risk?
Who and What will be affected?
How much will it cost me not to do Disaster-proofing?
Who can I ask for help in Disaster-proofing my
business? Who should I involve?
When should I have everything ready to be Disasterproof?
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9. 12/15/2013
Template for Initiating Disaster-Proofing
Checklist
Your thoughts
What is at risk?
Who and What will be affected?
My business data, my employees,
machinery, computer hardware
How much will it cost me not to do I could lose the whole business worth
Disaster-proofing?
Php300k
Who can I ask for help in
Disaster-proofing my business?
Barangay officials, insurance provider, data
cloud service provider, data recovery expert
Who should I involve?
Family, employees, barangay officials
When should I be ready?
Before rainy season starts, XX 2014
Try it!
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Planning Step
Planning
• What needs to be done to be disaster-proof?
 Create plans for scope (coverage), budget,
resources, communication, and purchases
 Create action plans for disaster risk reduction and
business recovery
 Rehearse and test the effectiveness of your plans
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Planning Disaster-Proofing
If a disaster occurs, what are the things I need to do to reduce damage
to my business, livelihood and family?
After the disaster, what should I do to get everything back to normal?
What are the things I need to be prepared for a disaster – for my
business, livelihood and family?
What do I need to keep my business running immediately after the
disaster and to protect my business during the disaster?
How much do I need to set aside as budget for disaster-proofing?
How do I get in touch with others so they know if we’re ok and when
we are back to normal?
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Disaster Risk
Reduction Techniques
to reduce disaster impact
Avoid, Mitigate
Transfer, Accept
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Disaster Risk Reduction Techniques
“Head first PMP”, Jennifer Greene PMP and Andrew Stellman PMP, O’Reilly Media, 2007
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Disaster Risk Reduction Techniques
“Head first PMP”, Jennifer Greene PMP and Andrew Stellman PMP, O’Reilly Media, 2007
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Examples of Risk Reduction
TECHNIQUE
EXAMPLE
AVOID
Moving to another location to avoid the effects of incoming disaster
Backing up data in the cloud
Taking the removable hard disk drive with you during evacuation
MITIGATE
Moving skeletal force to evacuation site during disaster
Flood control in the gate
Switching to backup system during disaster
TRANSFER
Availing insurance for Acts of God
Using a program to automatically backup and restore your data
ACCEPT
Do nothing, perhaps just save one’s self and start all over again
Any additional ideas?
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Business Recovery
Techniques
to get back to normal ASAP
Skeletal force
Mirror, Backup system
Call tree
Contingency fund
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13. 12/15/2013
Executing Disaster-Proofing
Execution
• Have I done everything that was planned?
Do the action plans as according to the Disaster
Timeline (phases)
Ensure that the action plans are done on time based
on some situation signals
Disaster risk reduction requires timely action.
Business recovery requires actions to be on time.
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Controlling Step
Controlling
• Did everything go according to plan?
Use checklist to review if the planned action steps
were done effectively.
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Closing Step
Closing
• Have I fully recovered from the disaster?
What went wrong and what went right?
Assess the success of disaster-proofing.
Look at the success of disaster-proofing ingredients:
preparedness, risk reduction, business recovery
Have I achieved my goals of minimal damage and
quick business recovery or business continuity?
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Disaster-proofing Process
(for your Business)
Initiating
• Should I do disaster-proofing for my business?
Planning
• What needs to be done to be disaster-proof?
Execution
• Have I done everything that was planned?
Controlling
• Did everything go according to plan?
Closing
• Have I fully recovered from the disaster?
Wrap up
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15. 12/15/2013
Common Mistakes
Assuming it will never happen or affect you
Acts of God can never be predicted and managed
Assume Customers will understand anyway
No need to document anything
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Summary
“Disaster-proofing is about risk management.”
“Project Management shows the disasterproofing steps from beginning to end.”
“Disaster-proofing starts with the mindset.”
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16. 12/15/2013
Don’t be a helpless victim of a disaster.
Start by disaster-proofing your business
and your livelihood
NOW!
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References:
Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) of US Foreign Disaster Assistance and CRED International Disaster Database
"Annual Disaster Statistical Review - 2012" by Sapir, Hoyois and Below, CRED
"Natural Disasters At a Glance-2013", (Philippine Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO)
"Building Resilience - Integrating Climate & Disaster Risk into Development", World Bank Group, 2013
"Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) 5th Ed." , Project Management Institute, 2013
"Project Management for Disaster Recovery ”, Project Management Institute, 2005
“Head first PMP”, Jennifer Greene PMP and Andrew Stellman PMP, O’Reilly Media, 2007
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