business continuity | risk management | iso 31000 | crisis management | succession planning | operational resilience
What You Will Learn:
- Build a risk register with named owners rather than a document nobody opens
- Apply ISO 31000, the risk hierarchy and the three lines of defence
- Identify the roles whose sudden loss would actually stop the business
- Build a bench for every critical role, and measure its depth
- Calculate demand against availability and find the gap before it bites
- Cut payroll in the least damaging order when there is no alternative
- Deliver bad news to the people staying, and rebuild their sense of safety
- Audit your current state across thirteen sections with a weighted index
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
- Draw on the author’s work at Preply, Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank
Alright, let’s talk about ‘Business Continuity: Prepare, Respond and Recover [EN]’. As someone who’s spent a fair bit of time in the tech trenches, dealing with everything from system outages to strategic pivots, the idea of a comprehensive business continuity course immediately piqued my interest. This isn’t just another dry academic lecture; it’s a direct, no-nonsense dive into what truly keeps a business running when the wheels start to fall off. The instructor, Mike, pulls no punches, drawing heavily on his extensive experience at places like Preply, Wargaming, and Alfa-Bank. It’s clear from the outset that this course isn’t about theoretical perfection but about practical, actionable strategies that address the messy realities of keeping operations resilient. It cuts through the fluff, focusing on building an adaptive organization rather than just ticking compliance boxes. This course is for anyone looking to genuinely fortify their organization against the myriad of threats – not just technical, but human and operational alike – ensuring genuine operational resilience.
Prerequisites
While the course covers foundational aspects, I’d suggest coming in with a basic understanding of organizational structures and some exposure to business operations. You don’t need to be a seasoned risk management guru or an IT architect, but a general grasp of how different departments interact and what constitutes a “critical” function within a company will help you hit the ground running. It’s suitable for those from beginner to advanced levels who are eager to apply robust frameworks to real-world scenarios, but absolute novices to the corporate world might find some of the strategic discussions more abstract without prior context. Essentially, if you understand what makes a business tick, you’re good to go.
Skills & Tools
This course arms you with some serious job-ready skills. You’ll learn to build a dynamic risk register – not just a static document – complete with named owners, making accountability clear and actionable. A significant portion focuses on mastering the application of ISO 31000, the globally recognized standard for risk management, alongside understanding the risk hierarchy and the crucial three lines of defense model. Expect to gain expertise in identifying indispensable roles and building deep talent benches through intelligent succession planning. The course provides frameworks to calculate demand against availability for critical resources, preempting potential shortfalls. Beyond the technical aspects, you’ll tackle the incredibly challenging human element: how to make tough decisions like payroll cuts with minimal damage, and perhaps even more critically, how to deliver bad news and rebuild trust and safety among the remaining team. You’ll also learn to audit your current state using a comprehensive, weighted index across thirteen crucial sections, essentially equipping you with industry-standard tools for continuous improvement.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
This course is an absolute booster for your career growth, especially if you’re eyeing roles that demand strategic foresight and robust operational planning. Professionals looking to excel as Business Continuity Managers, Risk Analysts, Operations Managers, IT Managers, Compliance Officers, or even aspiring C-suite executives will find immense value here. The practical approach to crisis management and operational resilience makes you an invaluable asset to any organization navigating today’s unpredictable landscape. The skills you acquire are highly transferable and directly applicable, providing a solid foundation for future certification prep in related fields or simply demonstrating a deep, practical understanding of critical business functions. It truly helps you develop a holistic view of safeguarding business operations, making you a more impactful and trusted leader.
Pros
- Unflinchingly Practical & Action-Oriented: This isn’t theoretical fluff. The course directly addresses real-world problems, such as building a living risk register with named owners, rather than a document that gathers dust. It focuses on identifying critical single points of failure – human or otherwise – and developing concrete strategies to mitigate them. This pragmatic approach ensures you gain genuinely job-ready skills that you can implement immediately.
- Holistic View of Resilience: Beyond just IT systems, the course deeply integrates human resources, financial implications, and strategic decision-making into its business continuity framework. Topics like succession planning, managing difficult payroll decisions, and rebuilding team morale are often overlooked but are absolutely critical components of true operational resilience. This breadth ensures a well-rounded understanding.
- Expert-Led with Real-World Experience: Learning alongside Mike, with his extensive background at companies like Wargaming and Alfa-Bank, means you’re getting insights from someone who’s actually been in the trenches. His experience isn’t just academic; it’s battle-tested, providing invaluable context and credibility to every lesson. The sheer number of students (1.6 million) attests to the quality and relevance of his instruction.
- Strong Foundation in Industry Standards: The course explicitly leverages ISO 31000, the risk hierarchy, and the three lines of defense, providing a structured and recognized framework for managing risk. This ensures that your approach to risk management isn’t just intuitive but also aligned with global best practices, which is excellent for both practical application and professional credibility.
Cons
- While incredibly comprehensive in its strategic and procedural guidance, those looking for extremely detailed, step-by-step hands-on labs involving specific software tools for business continuity planning or disaster recovery might find the course more focused on high-level frameworks and conceptual application rather than prescriptive technical implementation. It equips you with the “what” and “why,” but the “how” often requires independent application to your specific tech stack.