It was most interesting to moderate a session at the Continuity Insurance and Risk event yesterday. Congratulations to #DrOmeraKhan, for her insightful presentation on supply chain risk management.

The messages that came across for a room full of resilience and crisis management experts, is that today we are  living in a state of permanent crisis, or polycrisis, with the most challenging geopolitical challenges ever, and these are going to get worse before they  get better.

Resilience and cyber security should both funnel through the same vertical structure rather than via different silos. There needs to be buy from whole organisation. Starting with C-Suite leadership.

#DavidBriggs, Professor of leadership, and strategy, explained that it’s a human tendency  that we try simplify complex things, and this creates unintended consequences. We are taught to think in a linear way – which is why organisations compartmentalise and have silos.

We tend to show up at meetings with opinions – rather than curiosity. We need to ask, and engage. And rather than implement in straight lines, it’s about identifying the points of intervention, and what if planning.

Dr Omera Khan advised that with supply chain management agility, visibility and transparency are needed to reassure all stakeholders, and to win the day. Once you have identified your supply chain risks, and have your resilience plan in place, its about continuous training, practice, and drills. It was reassuring to establish that even with the most complex of challenges, like regular lifeboat training at sea, simple drills and practice are the solution and provide the resilience needed.