The single biggest mistake organizations make in preparedness planning is to treat disasters as something outside normal business operations. There is a tendency to see disasters in a class by themselves, one that requires specialized plans and procedures. The truth is that disasters are part of a continuum that begins with day-to-day problems. The mechanisms we use to resolve these problems can be expanded and adapted for use in disasters.

KNOW YOUR RISK 

The first step in preparedness planning is to understand the risks that your organization faces. We usually think about risk as a specific ...