Sabotage your own business?

Imagine if someone wanted to sabotage your business - put yourself in their shoes. How would they do it? What are the weak spots they would target?

You may find such an exercise a bit creepy but it might offer some interesting perspectives on your business continuity planning, your plans for dealing with emergencies.

It is often difficult to step back from the day to day running of the business and take an overview of potential risks and threats. Business continuity planning offers particular challenges because our natural reaction is to think things through logically, whereas disruptions such as fires or equipment failure usually trigger a chain of totally unexpected consequences.

So try to look at things from different angles and spot the connections and vulnerabilities. Think like a saboteur. In the first glance they perform the risk assessment “ how is this business vulnerable? In the second glance is the business impact analysis “ what would hurt most?

The saboteur enters the successful hair salon, newly opened and causing a stir among the competition. Laid proudly on the front reception desk is the appointment book: hand written and bursting with future customer appointment dates and times. In the blink of an eye it is stolen and critical information is lost!

The saboteur enters your business. They imagine how easy it would be to -

• leave that tap running in the toilets above your office
• change the 3 to an 8 on your price list or big event date
• overload that shelf which is above your laptop
• block that drain cover in the warehouse
• ring the health and safety executive about your staff using the wrong ladders
• put a spanner in the works - literally!

Are you imagining the saboteur as some mysterious stranger? Don't forget the familiar face who may want to cause mischief. The recurring short circuit, broken part or wrong delivery could be down to the member of staff who desperately wants the overtime. Or the colleague who needs time off so assists in getting themselves sent home early.

The key point is to spot where you are vulnerable - whether to malicious intent, accident or plain old human error. Spend some time thinking how to sabotage your business - you might just save it!

FIN

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About the author - Stephen Belshaw works at Safe in the Knowledge ( http://www.safeintheknowledge.com ). We provide an online tool to check your own disaster planning arrangements and those of your key suppliers.

Editor