Success Factors for Your Business Continuity Plan
The primary goal of business continuity planning is to have a methodical, integrated approach to all major projects in an effort to make certain that everything will be completed in a particular time frame. All project elements must be managed and performed in a way that integrates them together in the best possible manner, and that will not leave anything out. This is the key to a successful business continuity policy.
However, the primary goal goes far beyond the ability of any given project. For example, suppose a person is working on a major remodeling project, and they are in the early stages of the project. During this initial period, there is only a basic outline of what needs to be done and a basic blueprint of what needs to be done. This person’s ultimate goal is to complete the project, but if everything were to stay on track, they would run into serious problems with the overall project outcome and end up having to go back and start from scratch all over again. Therefore, this person’s primary goal is to make sure that everything stays on track, including the foundation of the entire project.
How does one go about determining if everything is on the right track?
It is important to think in terms of a pyramid scheme. If the goals are too high, then the business cannot survive on a basic plan alone, it needs to have more layers of goals built off the basic plan. Each of these goals adds more to the basic system, until eventually, the project becomes a very complex system.
Now, let us say that the main goal is to create an efficient and reliable supply chain. If the primary goal is to survive and thrive in a market, it may seem that the overall system is the goal. However, if the business owner does not see the need to have various other goals in the back-up plan, he/she might be doomed to failure. If the main goal is to survive and thrive, the primary goal should remain as the primary goal. The secondary goals should be considered a bonus.
The secondary objectives can be viewed much like the extras that customers buy in addition to the main product or service. The idea here is to help the company stay ahead of its competitors and create a better customer experience. The concept of what is the primary goal of business Continuity Planning is the same; it is to create a very dependable, smooth and effective supply chain system.
If you do not want to get this kind of complicated explanation, then consider a simple example. Consider a company that manufactures products based on consumer feedback. Their primary goal is to provide the best products possible at the best prices to their customers. If they did not plan properly, they might find themselves in a position where they are losing customers because they cannot keep up with the competition. At this point, the company would fail, even if they are one of the most successful companies in the world today.