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Keith Erwood

COO, Co-Founder & Principal Managing Consultant at Erwood Group

San Diego, United States

Keith is an author, speaker, consultant, and CEO of the Erwood Group where he assists clients to Prepare, Prevent, and Profit during times of crisis.

With expertise in Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, and Crisis Management, Keith has assisted and consulted for many organizations in numerous capacities across a wide variety of industries and businesses with recognizable names such as:

AAG, AbbVie, American Airlines, Carbon Black, DigiCert, DLA Piper, Gymboree, Hudson Pacific Properties, Lawrence Berkley Laboratories (through Dept. of Energy), Levi Strauss, Littler Mendelson, McLane, MPS Financial, Sharp Healthcare, Unify Square, and many Others.

He has published numerous articles pertaining to business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis management. His latest book, 25 Ways To Increase Your Business Resilience was just named one of the Top 16 Must-Read Books for Business Continuity Directors and Managers. He also owns and writes The Disaster Preparedness blog.

Available For: Advising, Authoring, Consulting, Influencing, Speaking
Travels From: San Diego
Speaking Topics: Business Continuity, Disaster Preparedness, Crisis Management, Cybersecurity

Keith Erwood Points
Academic 0
Author 124
Influencer 50
Speaker 0
Entrepreneur 45
Total 219

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Company Information

Company Type: Company
Theatre: North America, Global
Minimum Project Size: Undisclosed
Average Hourly Rate: Undisclosed
Number of Employees: Undisclosed
Company Founded Date: Undisclosed
Last Media Interview: 02/24/2022

Areas of Expertise

Analytics
Business Continuity 47.68
Business Strategy 30.34
Change Management
Cloud
COVID19 31.34
Customer Experience
Cybersecurity 30.15
Digital Disruption
Emerging Technology
Entrepreneurship 31.36
Health and Safety 31.84
Health and Wellness 30.08
Innovation
Leadership 30.39
Legal and IP 32.14
Management
Risk Management 33.88
Security 30.15
Social
Supply Chain 30.20

Industry Experience

Aerospace & Defense
Engineering & Construction
Federal & Public Sector
Financial Services & Banking
Healthcare
High Tech & Electronics
Industrial Machinery & Components
Insurance
Manufacturing
Media
Other
Pharmaceuticals
Professional Services
Retail
Travel & Transportation

Publications

28 Article/Blogs
What is DRP (Disaster Recovery Planning) and Why is It Important?
Erwood Group Blog / Keith Erwood
January 09, 2023
Disaster recovery planning is also known as DRP. As its name suggests, disaster recovery planning is all about having a plan ready for what to do to recover after a disaster.

However, in this context, we are not speaking of all types of company disasters. The relevant kinds of disasters are those that involve losing important data and similar technical disasters.

People use disaster recovery planning to prepare for a wide variety of possible causes of disasters. Some people are mostly thinking about the possibility of ransomware and other forms of cybercriminal activity. Other people are concerned about human error and the potential for essential data loss.

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Tags: Business Continuity

Understanding What Dark Web Scans Are & How They Can Protect You
Erwood Group Blog / Keith Erwood
January 03, 2023
With the rise of cybercrime and identity theft, it’s more important than ever to secure your data and protect yourself against the dark web. A Dark Web Scan allows you to monitor how your information is being shared or used, giving you peace of mind that your personal data is secure. Understanding What Dark Web Scans Are & How They Can Protect You & Your Business helps to keep your personal and business information more secure.

How? First, let’s start by taking a look at exactly what the dark web is.

What is the Dark Web?

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Tags: Cybersecurity

Introducing Our Basic Risk Assessment Tool
Erwood Group Blog / Keith Erwood
October 13, 2022
We at the Erwood Group believe that the Free Basic Risk Assessment Tool will be a game changer for the small and mid-sized business market for removing the obstacles required to complete a risk assessment quickly and efficiently.

This is important because one of the most basic reasons for business continuity or contingency plans to fail is the lack of a risk assessment or understanding of how those risks will impact the business.

Our proprietary tool is easy to use and will quickly calculate an Overall Threat Rating based on the Probability of Occurrence and the Impact Severity on key core operations of the business.

The Basic Risk Assessment Tool will be a part of our Forever Free Initiative to provide all businesses with better preparation for disruptions and disasters.

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Tags: Business Continuity

Everything You Need to Know About Business Continuity Plans
Keith Erwood
July 12, 2022
A business continuity plan is best described as the plan you would use if your business were impacted by a disaster or disruption so that you could continue providing goods and services to your customers and clients. I also like to just call it disaster planning for businesses.

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Tags: Business Continuity

Learn, Practice, Implement, Challenge – The New Exercise Methodology to Increase Your Business Endurance
Keith Erwood
April 20, 2022
Here at the Erwood Group, we’ve created a new exercise methodology. A new paradigm for the way a business exercises, trains, and prepares for a crisis. It is called Learn, Practice, Implement, Challenge – The new exercise methodology to Increase Your business endurance.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “crawl, walk, run” before, right?

Now, go ahead and tell me what you mean by that exactly, and I bet you’ll have some trouble.

“Crawl, walk, run”is a phrase I commonly hear especially around exercises. It’s a phrase that I hate. It’s just too vague, overly simplified, and completely nondescriptive, leaving out key details about just how we are supposed to progress through to something bigger and better. Can you tell me what you’re supposed to be trying to achieve?

Of course, you can’t.

That’s why many years ago I came up with the phrase Learn, Practice, Implement, Challenge which provides not only the descriptive details but the overarching goal of what we’re trying to accomplish with each stage of our exercise progression.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Business Strategy, Leadership

Why We Exercise Part 1 of 2
Keith Erwood
April 07, 2022
The reasons why we exercise are often varied yet sometimes misunderstood by many. Below I will share some of the many reasons why we exercise and perhaps you’ll gain some insights into Why We Exercise.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

Why We Exercise Part 2 of 2
Keith Erwood
April 07, 2022
Whether this is for Crisis Teams, Incident Management teams (or whatever you like to call your team), Business Continuity Teams, and especially Information Technology Disaster Recovery (ITDR) teams. Frequent, repeated exercises build confidence.

Confidence among the team(s) themselves, confidence in managers and executives of the business, and confidence from your customers and business partners. The most important place to build this confidence is among the teams that are doing the recovery work.

As you might expect, a lack of conducting exercises among your teams has the opposite effect. It can cause your team to break down and literally destroys their confidence, which also negatively impacts recovery times and overall recovery.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

Separating the Best from the Rest: An Analysis of Why Business Preparedness Is Critical in an Uncertain Future
Keith Erwood
April 05, 2022
Over the past few years, business leaders have been reminded repeatedly of the unpredictability of doing business in an uncertain future. This has certainly been the case for the past two years as business owners faced devastation from both humanitarian and natural disasters.

As the world gets riskier, being prepared for disruptions and disasters impacting your business is extremely important. Why? In addition to preventing severe financial losses, it can prevent companies from “closing their doors”.

To celebrate April’s Financial Literacy Month, I will share examples of what happens when you do not have a plan and outline strategic steps on how to build a resilient organization during the next crisis.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

THE MAJOR THINGS I AM DOING NOW TO UP MY PREPAREDNESS
The Disaster Preparedness Blog
January 05, 2021
In the last month, I have stepped up my preparedness efforts in a major way. I have always been well prepared. I keep a nice stock of many things. From Food, Water, Medicine, and other items. Below are the major things I am doing now to up my preparedness for my family.

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Tags: Risk Management, Business Continuity

IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME TO PREPARE, THE TIME IS NOW!
The Disaster Preparedness Blog
January 04, 2021
I have been putting a call out to Prepare for a while now. The time is short, and, if there was ever a time to prepare, the time is now! We were well prepared before and I recently began scaling up our family preparedness efforts and put out the word to my followers that now is the time to stock up.

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Tags: Risk Management, Business Continuity, COVID19

How Business Continuity Provides Value to A Business
Erwood Group
October 27, 2020
How Business Continuity Provides Value to A Business. There are many ways in which Business Continuity can provide a business with tremendous value. Not just during an activation of the plan itself, which may keep the business from suffering substantial losses, but even during times of normal business operations. How? You ask!

The first and most obvious to many is that business continuity planning helps organizations obtain reduced premiums on insurance. Another is that it assists in providing consistency across the enterprise and increased efficiency. Let’s look at each of these and others in more detail.

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Tags: Leadership, Risk Management, Business Continuity

How to Get ‘Unstuck’ In Your Contingency Planning
Erwood Group
October 01, 2020
Throughout the course of my career spanning over 25 plus years, I’ve witnessed many planners and organizations getting stuck during their continuity planning. This happens for a variety of reasons including how you manage the overall program. Here are some important ways on how to get ‘unstuck’ in your contingency planning.

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Tags: Leadership, Business Strategy, Business Continuity

The Problem With Downloading Those Templates to Complete Your Business Continuity Plans
LinkedIn
August 05, 2020
The biggest problem with downloading templates off the internet…

No one completes them! At least no one completes them accurately, and they delete items they incorrectly believe are unimportant to the process. That’s a problem.

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Tags: Risk Management, Business Continuity

People Always Ask Me How I Got Started Helping Businesses Prepare for the Unexpected. Here is My Story…
LinkedIn
August 02, 2020
⁣I was offered a job as a consultant with the Fire Department Operations Center (FDOC) but legal told me I couldn’t take it.⁣ They also said I would have to quit and have zero contact with anyone from the FDNY in order to take a consulting job with the department.

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Tags: Leadership, Risk Management, Business Continuity

WANT TO KNOW THE TOP THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME?
The Disaster Preparedness Blog
July 01, 2020
Yes, a pandemic scares me. I watched as this one unfolded in China and eventually spread around the globe. I watch China and other parts of Asia for potential outbreaks because throughout history, most of the diseases have started in China and Asia before spreading.

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Tags: Risk Management, Business Continuity, COVID19

Businesses face challenges in Reopening after Coronavirus
Erwood Group
June 17, 2020
Businesses face challenges in reopening after Coronavirus. Why? Well, there are several reasons, from temperature checks and whether to do them, even if you can. Sourcing cleaning supplies, added security, enforcing social distancing, and finding out employees don’t want to return to work yet.

In this post, I mention some of these issues and provide some recommendations on how to handle each situation to make your reopening a little bit smoother.

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Tags: Health and Safety, Business Continuity, COVID19

Handling Customers After Reopening During Coronavirus
Erwood Group
June 12, 2020
The article provides guidance to businesses on handling customers during COVID-19. Including implementing guidelines, rules, protocols, and what to do if a customer refuses to comply.

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Tags: Business Strategy, COVID19, Health and Safety

Reopening Your Business After the COVID-19 Shutdown
Erwood Group
June 10, 2020
There are a number of considerations and requirements you need to implement when Reopening Your Business After the COVID-19 Shutdown. This article and blog post provides detailed information on reopening your business safely during coronavirus.

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Tags: Business Continuity, COVID19, Health and Safety

DISASTER TIP OF THE WEEK: PREPARE TO ADAPT TO CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE
The Disaster Preparedness Blog
May 26, 2020
Sometimes, life causes us to make changes. One's we didn't really plan for. In the last few years I have had to change my plans and the way I prep. I went from being a Bug-Out person to one of Bugging-in. Let me share the story.

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Tags: Risk Management, Business Continuity

SCENARIO OF THE MONTH: AN ICE-STORM WRECKS HAVOC
The Disaster Preparedness Blog
November 21, 2019
It is Mid-November. After a week of above-average temperatures and some heavy rain. A massive cold front has moved into your area causing an ice-storm and covering everything in layers of ice.

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Tags: Risk Management, Business Continuity

DISASTER TIP OF THE WEEK: SET MEETING POINTS TO REUNITE WITH FAMILY AND LOVED ONES
Disaster Preparedness Blog
October 17, 2019
How to set meeting points to reunite with family members and loved ones after getting separated during a major disaster.

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Tags: Health and Safety, Health and Wellness

HOME SECURITY FOLLOW UP - SOME THINGS I'VE DONE IN MY OWN HOME
Disaster Preparedness Blog | Keith Erwood
February 25, 2013
In the last post, I talked about Home Security Considerations. Now, I'd like to follow up a bit and tell you more about what I have done with my home. While I will not cover everything we did in our home for obvious reasons I plan on giving you some low-cost but effective means and examples of what you can do to secure your premises.

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Tags: Security

HOME SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
Disaster Preparedness Blog | Keith Erwood
February 14, 2013
Home security is an oft-overlooked preparedness measure and should be thought about and planned out well in advance. First, there are two ways we are going to look at security here; your everyday security and security for a bugging-in situation.

For everyday security, it would be impossible for me to address every possible situation and provide specific advice to a broad audience, so let’s take a look at some good sound basics.

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Tags: Security

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR AN ACTIVE SHOOTER? STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO PREPARE TODAY!
Disaster Preparedness Blog
August 09, 2010
Keith offers advice on what to do during an active shooter event. From, what is an active shooter (Keith still prefers to use the term spree killer)? to what to do to mitigate the occurrence and what to do if it happens to you.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Health and Safety, Risk Management

EARTHQUAKE SAFETY -- WHAT TO DO BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE
Disaster Preparedness Blog
April 05, 2010
Provides detailed information in preparing for an earthquake including what to do during and after an earthquake.

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Tags: Health and Safety

1 Author Newsletter
Endurance
Erwood Group / Keith Erwood
May 02, 2022
Endurance is the Monthly Newsletter published (in pdf format) by the Erwood Group covering Risk Management, Business Continuity, Cybersecurity, and Emerging Risks.

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Tags: Business Continuity

1 Book
25 Ways To Increase Your Business Resilience
Amazon
August 09, 2020
25 Ways To Increase Your Business Resilience. A simple Guide to Implementing Business Continuity and Contingency Planning for Business was written with small and midsized businesses in mind. It was written to provide them with the basic information and tools needed to develop a plan from start to finish. More than just a book providing the steps for each phase, you’ll gain access to tools Keith uses when he consults directly with his clients. These include a Risk Assessment, Business Impact Analysis and Financial Impact Analysis tools. These for the basis for the information gathering you need to begin and form the foundation of your plans. Next you will be given steps on how to strategize and a planning template to complete taking you through to completion of your plan. You will also have information about maintaining and testing your plan well into the future as your business grows. Included in the book are two bonus chapters that feature interviews done by Keith with Eric Lofholm and Jermaine Jackson that provides additional information on handling a crisis, your mindset, as well as stress, and anxiety

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Tags: Business Continuity

1 Founder
Co-Founder of Erwood Group
Erwood Group
January 20, 2020
Keith Erwood Co-founded the Erwood Group to help businesses of all sizes reach their resiliency goals and objectives. With over 20 years of experience in consulting, Keith Erwood has helped countless businesses over 20 the last years and counting.

Starting in 1993 with some computer networking at a business he was working at he discovered his love for working on computers. By 1995 he became adept at recovering data for various clients and friends. In 1996 he started a small business helping other consultants with their overflow and started consulting on disaster recovery. He spent the first few years of his business developing his technology skills and making additional contacts and focusing his efforts on making businesses more resilient.

Keith has assisted clients directly in various industries such as airlines, pharmaceuticals, large law firms, property management firms, high-tech manufacturers, distribution and fulfillment centers, retailers, healthcare, and more.

From Fortune 100 companies to small family-operated firms and medium-sized businesses, the Erwood Group has a solution for you.

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Tags: Entrepreneurship

1 Industry Award
The 16 Most Essential Books for Business Continuity Directors
Solutions Review
September 23, 2020
Business continuity directors take on a massive responsibility. Knowing how to avoid downtime and simultaneously keep your business running smoothly is critical. Whether hardcover or digital, books are an excellent source for professionals looking to learn about a specific field of technology, and business continuity directors are no exception. We’ve listed the top 16 books that business continuity directors should add to their reading lists. These books are intended for beginners and experts alike and are written by authors with proficiency and recognition in business continuity.

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Tags: Business Continuity

2 Infographics
2021 Top Risks Overview Infographic
Keith Erwood
January 01, 2021
Infographic of 2021 Top Risks Overview from Our 2021 Top Risks & Emerging Threats Report.

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Tags: Risk Management

2017 Emerging Threats Overview
Keith Erwood
January 02, 2017
Infographic of 2017 Emerging Threats Overview from Our 2017 Emerging Threats Report.

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Tags: Risk Management

2 IP Assets
Basic Risk Assessment Tool
Erwood Group
September 02, 2022
Keith Erwood created his original tool the Risck Assessment Tool in 2008. Now it is a Free Software Tool accessible through our website.

Helping businesses of all sizes quickly and effectively asses their risks and the impacts to their business.

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Tags: Risk Management

Basic Downtime Calculator
Erwood Group
August 23, 2022
Keith Erwood created his original tool the Downtime Calculator in 2008 and subsequently turned it into a software app in 2011 on his web-site and an iOS Apple based app. Many have attempted to copy and recreate this tool.

Now after over ten years the tool has been updated, and released as a free tool to help SMEs calculate the financial impacts to their businesses from risks and disruptive events.

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Tags: Legal and IP

3 Media Interviews
Helping Your Business Remain In Business - Erwood Group
Go Solo
December 21, 2022
My business is about protecting other people's businesses so they can stay in business despite disruptions and disasters. This includes helping businesses with everything from Business Continuity and Crisis Management planning to Data Backups and Cyber Security.

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Tags: Business Continuity

Keith discusses the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and how it will Impact local San Diegans Pocketbooks
Erwood Group - ABC 10 News KGTV
February 24, 2022
As Seen on ABC 10 News KGTV
Keith Erwood Business Preparedness Expert from the Erwood Group as seen on ABC 10 News San Diego (KGTV). Keith discusses the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and how it will Impact local San Diegans Pocketbooks. Keith Erwood was asked to describe how it has impacted him personally and what he see’s in the near-term future. Keith mentions we will definitely see $6.00 gas and potentially up to $7.00 or even higher in other parts of California. Interview details: Item

Date: Feb 24 2022 First Aired at 6:00 PM PT Source: KGTV Market: San Diego, CA

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Tags: Business Strategy, Risk Management, Supply Chain

KUSI Segment on Supply Chain Issues and Recommendations with Keith Erwood
KUSI
November 21, 2021
Keith Erwood makes an appearance on KUSI on November 21, 2021, and discusses the current Supply Chain Issues and how it is disrupting the local San Diego economy and businesses. Keith mentions what he is seeing and hearing from local businesses, including huge spikes in costs, boutique retailers no longer carrying items due to increased costs, and shortages of goods at retailers and major restaurant chains. During the segment, Keith makes recommendations about shifting to local suppliers and producers to reduce impacts to your business or restaurant. He also discusses sourcing secondary and tertiary suppliers locally.

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Tags: Supply Chain

6 Podcasts
How To Avoid Getting ‘Stuck’ In The BIA Phase Episode #5
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December 07, 2020
In this episode, I discuss how to avoid getting stuck in the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) phase of your business continuity planning. This is a common problem in many organizations and I’ve seen it many times during my career. I even had a recent conversation with a colleague where he witnes

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Tags: Leadership, Risk Management, Business Continuity

Creating the Foundation to Your Business Continuity Plan Episode #4
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November 23, 2020
Starting with deterring critical business processes and core business functions and moving to Risk Assessments and Business Impact Analysis and finally on to critical business applications. This Episode of Beyond Resilience provides a look at and guidance to building the foundational setting of your

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

Why Business Continuity Plans Fail Episode #3
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November 16, 2020
Why Business Continuity Plans Fail. The 12 Common Causes and How to Prevent Them.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

How Business Continuity Provides Value Episode #2
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November 09, 2020
Business Continuity Planning and programs provide tremendous value to the businesses that implement them. In this episode of Beyond Resilience we outline 23 ways that business contingency planning provides value to your business.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

Introduction to the Beyond Resilience Podcast Episode #1
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November 04, 2020
Welcome to the Beyond Resilience Podcast. This episode provides an introduction to the podcast, your Host, Keith Erwood, and the Erwood Group, where we talk about the purpose of this podcast. I will provide you valuable and actionable content about business continuity planning, disaster recovery, cr

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

Preview of the Beyond Resilience Podcast Episode 0.1
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November 02, 2020

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Tags: Business Continuity, Leadership, Risk Management

1 Webinar
5 Key Areas of All Hazard Contingency Planning - All Hazards Blueprint for Business
Keith Erwood
October 13, 2020
5 Key Areas of All Hazard Contingency Planning to Focus on Operational Resilience. All Hazards Blueprint For Business

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Tags: Business Continuity

4 Whitepapers
The True Cost of Downtime and the Business Case for Business Continuity
Keith Erwood
December 07, 2020
The True Cost of Downtime and the Business Case for Business Continuity - Most businesses know that downtime and disruptions cause lost revenue. However, many businesses fail to accurately measure the true costs of downtime has on their businesses. Measured correctly, it is easy to see these costs are significant and include a number of costs that often go overlooked.

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Tags: Business Continuity

The Importance of Business Continuity
Erwood Group
July 01, 2020
Originally written in 2009, and newly updated in 2020 this whitepaper discusses the Importance of Business Continuity. Within is the latest statistics on Business Continuity and strategies for getting started.

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Tags: Business Continuity, Business Strategy, Cybersecurity

A Guide to Protecting Your Business
Keith Erwood
February 07, 2020
A Guide to Protecting Your Business

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Tags: Business Continuity

Why Business Continuity Plans Fail 12 Common Causes and How to Prevent Them
Keith Erwood
January 07, 2020
Why Business Continuity Plans Fail 12 Common Causes and How to Prevent Them is a Whitepaper published by Keith in 2020 that reveals the common causes of BCP failures and recommendations for overcoming the causes.

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Tags: Business Continuity

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