by John Gross
Most leaders think business continuity is just an IT issue. It’s not!
In small and mid-sized companies, continuity risk usually lives in people and process — not servers.
First, the biggest threat to continuity is often people dependency. The founder who must approve every decision. The controller who is the only person who understands how cash really moves. The maintenance leader who knows the ‘secrets’ of how to keep production alive. The salesperson who owns all the top relationships.
When critical knowledge sits in one person’s head instead of in a system-- the business becomes fragile. A simple test: if someone can’t step away for two weeks without disruption, you don’t have continuity — you have a people concentration risk.
Second, continuity is built through redundancy, not heroics. Companies don’t fail during disruption because people stop caring — they fail because they don’t have predefined alternatives:
• A second qualified supplier.
• Cross-trained people.
• Documented decision authority.
• Standard work for critical workflows.
These aren’t bureaucratic exercises — they’re resilience builders. You can’t improvise stability in the middle of a crisis.
Finally, continuity is less about prevention and more about recovery speed. You won’t avoid every disruption — cyber events, supply shocks, leadership turnover, equipment failure. But you can control how quickly you stabilize.
Recovery-ready organizations know:
• Who steps in.
• What gets prioritized.
• How cash is protected.
• How customers are informed.
The companies that endure crisis aren’t disruption-proof -- they’re prepared to regain control quickly when disruption arrives.
Effective leadership means being prepared for disruption. Start turning your business into a ‘Recovery-Ready Organization’ today!
John Gross, a Business Architect, helps small and mid-sized businesses clarify strategy, build resilient teams and gain control of their operations to achieve sustainable growth. Contact him at John@DrivingChangeInc.com or 636.667.0579 to start driving change.