Preparing for a crisis is not a luxury; it is a necessity. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven this. You know the odds are high that your company will suffer, or has experienced, a disaster or crisis. You cannot say you weren't ready; today's extreme public and government scrutiny demand that you should have been prepared. MIT's Crisis Management & Business Resiliency course will help prepare you for the inevitable.
This comprehensive course provides up-to-date assessments and knowledge on issues that affect you and your organization — the COVID-19 Pandemic, cyber security, supply chain, leadership, data breach, communications, news media, social media — from the experts involved with these efforts. We also examine strategies for job and career improvement. You will have the opportunity to interact online with our lecturers and with your peers from industry, academia, and government.
By the end of the course, you will have the tools, knowledge, and understanding to benchmark, assess, and improve your business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis management program. This includes the course manual (e-files), templates, and current articles. You will gain valuable contacts, have plenty of online networking opportunities, and acquire insights for immediate implementation.
(This course was previously titled "Crisis Management & Business Continuity")
Participant Takeaways
- Presentations by and discussions with industry and government leaders/subject matter experts
- Current status of issues that affect you and your organization
- Online interactions with peers from academia, industry, and government
- Lessons learned from multiple case studies
- Course manual e-files
- Various templates for your immediate use
- Current articles by industry authors
- MIT Professional Education Certificate of Completion
Who Should Attend
This course is for the Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Management, and Crisis Management practitioner or responder as well as for the executive who oversees these disciplines. Other staff who would benefit from this course include corporate executives, directors, and staff from IT/MIS, Environment Health & Safety, Risk Management, Public Relations, Human Resources, and Security. This course is also suited for federal, state, and local government officials and Emergency Managers.
Both novices and experienced personnel will benefit greatly from this course. If you cannot go, tell your director/executive so he/she can attend to better understand your complex profession.
Program Outline
This course offers an effective combination of lecture, case studies, and class participation activities conducted by knowledgeable and experienced instructors who are leaders in their fields. Case studies of actual crisis situations – with an emphasis on the COVID-19 Pandemic – are used to emphasize and enhance the concepts. Several interactive class activities provide additional hands-on experience. Participants can also practice what is learned: the course concludes with an optional participation crisis simulation in which participants take active roles in a simulated disaster, including a realistic news media briefing.
MIT is offering the 2020 Crisis Course in a live virtual format – that is, online participation. To ease participants’ online experience, we are offering the course over two consecutive weeks.
Note: Topics, speakers, and schedule are subject to change.
PRE-COURSE – Tuesday January 19 (Optional)
- Virtual Student/Faculty Reception
- Introductions, Networking
DAY ONE – Wednesday, January 20
- Welcome, Course Information; our Online Experience
Steve Goldman, Dick Larson, Lou DiBerardinis - Crisis Management & Business Resilience Overview and Issues
Dr. Steve Goldman, MIT - BC Laws, Standards, and Metrics
Don Byrne, President, Metrix411 - Day’s Review; Faculty/Student Networking
DAY TWO – Thursday, January 21
- Case Study: From aircraft incidents to the Pandemic
Penny Neferis, Director Emergency Response & Care, JetBlue - Managing Global Crises: Challenges, successes, and lessons learned
Dawn Turton, Former Director, Business Continuity Management, Hilton - Day’s Review; Faculty/Student Networking
DAY THREE – Friday, January 22
- Supply Chain Management: Before, during, and after a crisis
Dr. Yossi Sheffi, Director, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics - Emergency Preparedness & the Dimensions of Meta-Leadership
Eric McNulty, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, Harvard University - Day’s Review; Faculty/Student Networking
DAY FOUR – Monday, January 25: The News Media, Social Media, and Your Crisis
- Newspapers/Radio/Websites
Joe Sciacca, Editor-in-Chief (retired), The Boston Herald - Television/Visual Media
Howard B. Price, TV News Editor and Producer - Social media issues and crisis response
Dr. Rick Reed, Social Media Program Manager, Intel Corporation - Day’s Review; Faculty/Student Networking
DAY FIVE – Tuesday, January 26
- Cyber Security Update and Recent Events
Abel Sanchez, MIT - Industry Trends: Impact on your program and your career
Cheyene Marling, President, BC Management Inc. - Day’s Review; Faculty/Student Networking
DAY SIX – Wednesday, January 27: The COVID-19 Pandemic
- Pandemic Update
Dick Larson - Where we have been, where we are going
John M. Barry, World-Acclaimed Pandemic Author/Historian - Pandemic Response/Lessons Learned
Representative from US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Others TBD
- Q&A moderated by Dr. Larson
- Leadership Insights for the BC Manager
Steve Goldman - Course Review, Final Thoughts
DAY SEVEN – Thursday, January 28 (Optional): Virtual Comprehensive Crisis Simulation
- Course instructors present an online realistic simulation of an unfolding, multi-incident crisis. Participants take active roles as federal, local, corporate, news media, or other responders to manage and recover from the events. These events include a simulated hazmat leak, workplace violence, and cybersecurity events.
Steve Goldman, Dick Larson, Lou DiBerardinis, Howard Price, Sandra Galletti