If you’re planning to attend the 4.5 day BCLE2000 course and achieve DRI International certification, good for you! The course gives attendees a thorough grounding in business continuity management, addressing each of the ten Professional Practices defined by the DRI. But what also counts is the use you make of this information when you get back to your own organisation. Review, apply and practice! Information is only of value when it’s applied to solve a problem or improve a situation. The following tips may help you to maximise the effects.
Putting training into action quickly afterwards is important. Make sure you’re applying the key BCM principles from the BCLE2000 course; and review all the new information to see which pieces could help you the most and the soonest. An interesting case study about executive training relates how course students were asked after a training course if they were using the new techniques they learnt, and if so, when they had started. It turned out that two weeks was the maximum time to turn good intentions into actions; any longer, and the new techniques stayed filed away in the course notes. So when you get back, start applying your new business continuity management knowledge right away!
Small steps every day in applying your new business continuity skills are an effective way to get the most out of your training. Find the actions that are achievable and that lead to better and better business continuity. For instance, start by implementing a practical improvement (whether big or small) for each of the ten DRI Professional Practices each day. Then extend to helping colleagues to apply practical BCM ideas in their own work. Write your action down as a simple plan and put it where you’ll see it every day. Build good BCM habits with this constant reminder, and you’ll soon see how small daily steps amount to significant improvements over time.