Holistic Risk Management

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• Relevance of staff work

  The topic of crisis management remains very relevant. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine turns the international legal order upside down. This creates endless suffering for the people affected and also poses fundamental challenges for many companies. In this situation, at a large event in Heidelberg with students from the Baltic States and Germany, I had the opportunity to experience one of Russia’s special connoisseurs, Rüdiger von Fritsch, in an intensive exchange. To understand the current situation, I would highly recommend his new book. In another round of discussions with responsible persons from the crisis teams of large companies, we were able to identify, among others, the following four key points:The challenges for crisis management during the Ukraine crisis are much more complex than during the Corona crisisWithout the experience gained during the Corona crisis, the challenges posed by the Ukraine crisis would have hit companies much harderThe status of crisis management in companies has improved significantly as a result of current experienceThe importance of a structuring methodology has become more prevalent and the importance of methodical staff work has increased.A paper entitled “Thesen zur Zukunft der Stabsarbeit” (Theses on the future of staff work), of which I am one of the signatories, also goes in this direction. The theses include, for example, the formulation “In the future, the demands on staffs will increase” (thesis 2), “People bear the responsibility in staff work and are accordingly the focus” (thesis 3) or “The further development of staff work must be systematized” (thesis 7). In the case of Thesis 8 “The leadership system of the German Fire Service Directive 100 (FwDV 100) requires targeted further development in line with future requirements”, reference is made to the fact that the flood disaster in July 2021 showed that one of the causes for the deficiencies identified in leadership performance is seen in the different interpretations of the FwDV 100.At this point, I would like to refer to ISO 22361 on crisis management. The text of the standard has meanwhile been finalized as DIS by the responsible working group and can be ordered on the ISO site. Soon it should be published as FDIS. The main contents of the new ISO 22361 include in particular the “Personal requirements for leadership” (chap. 6) and the “Requirements for strategic decision-making” (chap. 7). Despite the occasional appearance of reservations about ISO standards, in my view ISO 22361 will fill the requirements for a methodological framework concept for crisis management with content and thus set the necessary “guard rails”, especially for companies that operate internationally. I will be happy to present the essential content of the new standard to an interested audience during a webinar or public lecture. You can download the basic presentation from our homepage. ISO 22361 is also suitable for use as a benchmark when evaluating an existing crisis management system. We are looking forward to your inquiries.We wish all of us a peaceful development in Ukraine, a nice summer and relaxing vacations. Stay healthy.Klaus Bockslaff and team Download the InfoBrief as PDF here

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• Christmas 2021

  Dear Sirs, Dear Madams,From our point of view, in the current situation it is a very good decision of the future German government to establish a crisis team in the Federal Chancellery and to place it under the leadership of an experienced major general. The essential task of crisis management is to get “ahead of the situation” in an uncertain and threatening situation by taking appropriate measures. Unfortunately, there could be no talk of this in the “crisis management” driven by politics so far. The pandemic is a classic crisis situation that can no longer be controlled by the “normal organization”. This requires a very clear competence for the method of “leadership in crisis”. However, this is not a prerequisite for working in politics, e.g. as a member of the Bundestag, or in a leading position in administration.The core of crisis management is strategic decision-making. One of the biggest challenges in staff work is the decision-making process. The importance of decision making is often underestimated. Poor decision making exacerbates an already difficult situation. The meaning of this quote from the new ISO has become painfully clear to all of us in recent months.A new standard on crisis management is currently being developed in the ISO committees. At the beginning of November, a text on this project was submitted as a Draft International Standard. The national bodies in Germany (DIN), Switzerland (SNV) and Austria (A.S.I.) participate in the ISO consultations in the Working Group ISO / TC 292 on this topic. As a “designated expert” of the SNV, I participate in the consultations. The text of the draft for the new standard can be obtained from the ISO pages https://www.iso.org/standard/50267.html. Key points of the new standard are the very clear presentation of the leadership rhythm and the highlighting of the requirements for the skills of the members of the crisis team. The draft is very clear that the strategic decision-making process is about making a good response in a highly escalated situation based on the best available information, thereby controlling the event and minimizing the impact. Today we would like to inform you about the availability of ISO DIS 22361 and thereby give you the opportunity to comment. To this end, I would like to ask you to review the text that is now available and to provide us with any comments in writing.On Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.,we will host another webinar on the “Basic Structure of the New ISO DIS 22361 on Crisis Management.” I cordially invite you to this webinar, via teams. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have on this subject. Register for the webinar now! We wish all of you a peaceful Advent season, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2022. Stay healthy all of you. Klaus Bockslaff and Mathias Götsch

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• Webinar on the planned new ISO 22361 Crisis Management

  In November 2021, the new ISO DIS 22361 Crisis Management was published by the ISO bodies and is now available for comment by all interested parties.In our webinar, Dr. Klaus Bockslaff, who himself participated in the negotiations as a representative of Switzerland, will present this groundbreaking standard for crisis management and answer questions from the committee work.Two of the most important aspects of this standard are the leadership requirements of a crisis manager and the process organization of strategic decision making in a crisis. These and other aspects will be discussed in depth in the webinar. In preparation, you can download the current draft of the standard from the ISO website for a fee.Currently there is no date set for the next webinar. Leave your contact details here and we will inform you as soon as the date is set.

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