Learning From the Post Earthquake Resiliency of Japanese Companies

Some of the larger businesses that were impacted by the recent Japanese earthquake were able to overcome the disaster and recover remarkably quickly.

How did some companies recover so fast? By being both prepared and working with resources outside of their companies, such as vendors and building the redundancy into the manufacturing and supply chain processes.

In a recent article written by Michael Koploy titled The Post-Tsunami Supply Chain All-Stars | Who Recovered the Fastest and How? he details how some of these companies overcame the worst earthquake in Japanese history.

Check out his article to glean more insight in what these companies did differently and learn what you should be doing at your business.

Calls for More Business Continuity Planning After Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Whenever a major disaster occurs, calls for better planning usually follow as we are now seeing after the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. And, what so often happens, one disaster gives way to or creates another as with the nuclear plant issues following the natural disaster. 

There is a lot we can learn from Japan as one of the best prepared nations in the world when it comes to preparedness and planning for natural catastrophe. The first of which should be no matter how well you plan or prepare ahead of time, something unexpected or catastrophic can still occur, and the need to be flexible in your planning and using your contingency plan as a tool box as opposed to a rigid set of ordered procedures that should be followed is extremely important.

One of the unfortunate things that happen over time especially in the business world is that this type of planning quickly becomes un-important. Even more so during tough economic times as the recent global financial troubles, contingency planning was one of the first things to go.

While I appreciate the calls for better preparedness and I do agree with those calls, proper planning must consist of a continually ongoing process. Planning itself is a process and not a product or something you can do once and put it on a shelf.

Here are just some of the links to recent stories calling for better planning, preparedness and disaster recovery.

Do You Have a Disaster Recovery or Emergency Plan?

Need for Business Continuity Plans

Emergency Planning Crucial in Disaster Recovery

One last thing, while planning is great, it is still not enough. Make sure you incorporate tabletop or other exercises to test and run through your plan and look for gaps and opportunities for improvement.  



Earthquake and Tsunami In Japan

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan makes us all realize just how fragile life can be, and how powerful the forces of nature are. Events like these can be both unpredictable and unforgiving to our ways of life.

Japan was, and remains to be, one of the best prepared countries in the world when it comes to earthquakes and tsunami preparedness. The building codes are one of, if not the best in the world and yet no amount of preparedness can keep such events from happening to us anywhere in the world.

As I sit and write this I shudder to think about how such an event might impact other cities and countries around the world if the same event occured in another place. It reminds me of a conversation I once had with someone about being prepared to go at a moments notice with my go-bag ready at all times.

I would like to think that I am ready, but the truth is you never really know until that time is upon you. I only hope I never will be tested or have to put my last resort SHTF plan to work.

With this said, my thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people in there time of need. I ask that if you can to please make a donation to a charity that is actively helping the Japanese to recover.

A good one is always the Red Cross the only thing that you should be aware of when making donations to other charities is to be sure they are legitimate since fraud becomes an unfortunate event during these tragedies.

Just so you are aware March 27, 2011 kicks off Tsunami Awareness week, and I will be doing some posts on that starting that week.

So far estimated costs of the disaster are estimated to be around $180 Billion (U.S.) and the death toll estimated to be around 10,000 and expected to climb as whole towns and infrastructures have been wiped out.