Crisis Management & Business Resiliency

This comprehensive program provides important knowledge, up-to-date assessments, and several case studies on issues that affect you and your organization — regulations and standards, response strategies, cyber security, supply chain, crisis leadership, artificial intelligence, communications, news media, social media, federal/state/local government response, drills and exercises — from the experts involved with these efforts. We also examine strategies for program, position, and career improvement. You will have the opportunity to interact with our lecturers and with your peers from industry, academia, and government.

Participants also practice what is learned - the course includes:
•    A ransomware tabletop exercise
•    A highly interactive crisis simulation in which participants take active response roles in a multiple-event crisis, including a realistic news media briefing.

By the end of the course, you will have the tools, knowledge, and understanding to benchmark, assess, and improve your business resiliency, cybersecurity, and crisis management programs. This includes the course manual (e-files), templates, and current articles. You will gain valuable contacts, have plenty of networking opportunities during and after class, and acquire insights/skills/knowledge for immediate implementation.

Questions or need additional information? Contact MIT Professional Education at shortprograms@mit.edu.

Certificate of Completion from MIT Professional Education

This dynamic 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 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 a highly interactive crisis simulation in which participants take active roles in a multiple event crisis, including a realistic news media briefing.

Notes:

• Course days generally run from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM EDT, with generous breaks, lunch breaks, and much networking time included.
• Topics, speakers, and schedule are subject to change.

DAY ONE – Monday, July 14

• Welcome, Introductions, Course Information
  • Steve Goldman, Dick Larson, Bhaskar Pant, Suzanne Blake (All MIT)
• Crisis Management & Business Resiliency Overview and Issues
  • Dr. Steve Goldman, MIT
• Business Resiliency Laws, Standards, and Metrics
  • Don Byrne, President, Metrix411

- - - - Lunch - - - -

• Jet Blue: From Aircraft Incidents to the Pandemic and Beyond!
  • Penny Neferis, Director Emergency Response & Care, JetBlue
• Small Organization Resiliency
  • Mark Carroll, Boston University
• How to Speak, Eat, and Drive like a Bostonian!
  • Steve Goldman, MIT

Class and Faculty Reception, MIT Samberg Center

DAY TWO – Tuesday, July 15

• Supply Chain Management: Before, during, and after a Crisis
  • Dr. Yossi Sheffi, Director, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics                           
• Cyber Security Threats, Response and Recent Events
  • Abel Sanchez, Executive Director, Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity, MIT

- - - - Lunch - - - -

• Executive Cyber Security Exercise
  • M. Barcomb, C. Wilkes, SANS Institute
• Cybersecurity for Operational Technology
  • Israel Reyes, Cybolt
• Emergency Preparedness & the Dimensions of Meta-Leadership
  • Eric McNulty, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, Harvard University

New England Lobster (or other) Dinner

DAY THREE – Wednesday, July 16

At the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Regional Response Coordination Center

• Local / Hazmat Planning and Response
  • Bill VanSchalkwyk, Groton MA FD (ret) and Harvard EHS
• State Planning and Response
  • Justin Shrair, MA, Emergency Management Agency
• Federal Planning and Response
  • Dan McElhinney, US Dept. of Homeland Security
  • Iris Santoni
  • Zach Burnett

- - - - Lunch and Facility Tour - - - -

• Facility Tour
  • Command/Operations Center
  • Mobile Emergency Response Support Center
     
• Working with the FBI on Terrorism Data and Breaches
  • Special Agents Brian LeBlanc and Doug Domin, FBI

DAY FOUR – Thursday, July 17

• Social Media: Issues and Crisis Response
  • Katie Nelson, Police Department, Gilroy CA
• The News Media: What are we going to do to you, and how to prepare
  • Joe Sciacca, Editor (ret), The Boston Herlad; currently Enterprise Editor, WHDH-TV
  • Howard Price, Editor (ret), NBC-TV News, NY

- - - - Lunch - - - -

• Artificial Intelligence and Business Resiliency
  • Jason Hoss, Whirlybird Labs, Ltd.
• Disaster Modeling
  • Dick Larson, MIT
• Response to and Impact of the Los Angeles Wildfires
  • Panel Session with:
    • Darcy Noricks, Sony Pictures Entertainment
    • Steven Lei, East-West Bank
    • Soraya Sutherlin, Disaster Management Area Coordinator, LA County
    • Alex Silverman, News Director, KNX News Radio

DAY FIVE – Friday, July 18

• Industry Trends: Impact on Your Program and Your Career
  • Cheyene Marling, Resilience360 Advisory

Crisis Response Simulation

• Crisis Response Simulation
  • Course instructors present a dynamic simulation of an unfolding, multi-incident crisis. Participants take active roles as facility, corporate, federal agency, local agency, news media, social media trolls, or other responders to manage and recover from the events. The scenario incorporates hazmat leak, workplace violence, and cybersecurity events. It ends with a realistic news media briefing where you are the reporter!
    • Steve Goldman, Howard Price, Joe Sciacca, Suzanne Blake, Mark Carroll, others

- - - - Lunch during Simulation - - - -

• Course Review, Final Thoughts, and Graduation!
  • Steve Goldman and Dick Larson

Also included with your Registration:

• MIT Professional Education Crisis Course ID on MIT lanyard
• MIT Professional Education Notebook and Pen
• 15% Discount to the MIT/Harvard Coop Campus Store (https://store.thecoop.com/)
• Campus and local area information, guides, and maps
• The following meals/refreshments:
  • Mid-Morning Break (e.g., bagels and fruit, coffee/tea/juices)
  • Box Lunch (multiple selections with drink)
  • Mid-Afternoon Break (e.g., Cookies! Fruit!)
  • Thursday afternoon break – make your own Ice Cream Sundae!
  • Monday Evening Reception
  • Tuesday Evening Lobster (or other selection) Dinner*
• Optional Tour of MIT Sunday July 13, or Friday July 18*
• Book by Lecturer Eric McNulty “YOU'RE IT: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When it Matters Most”
• Book by Lecturer Dr Yossi Sheffi “THE NEW (AB)NORMAL: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19”
• Book by Lecturer Dr Richard Larson “Model Thinking for Everyday Life”
• Seminar and lessons on how to speak, eat, and drive like a Bostonian!
• Many networking opportunities
• Access to speakers during and after the Course
• Class picture
• The unique and highly coveted MIT Crisis Course Coffee Mug!

Also – bring your family! While you are at MIT, they can explore a world-class city and local area with many important historical sites, great shopping, excellent dining, available transportation networks, PLUS visit the many colleges and universities that New England has to offer.

*Bring your family (space available)!

• Presentations by and discussions with industry and government leaders/subject matter experts
• Status of issues that affect you, your response, and your organization
• 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
• Official MIT Professional Education Certificate of Completion
• Upon completion, course graduates will be eligible to enroll in the MIT Crisis Course Alumni LinkedIn private group
• Course graduates will also be eligible to enroll in the MIT Professional Education Advanced Business Resiliency course

Links and Resources:

Commentary: The Digital Stairway to Heaven, Black Churches and the Pandemic, Black Enterprise, February 14, 2022

This course is designed for professionals who work in Business Resiliency, Disaster Recovery, Cyber Security, Emergency Management, Crisis Management, or Crisis Communications.

Participants who will also benefit from the curriculum also include:

• Corporate executives/directors who want to enhance the efficacy of their organization's business continuity, disaster recovery, cyber security, crisis management, and crisis communications programs
• Federal, state, and local government officials who need to assess and improve their department's crisis management planning to better protect and serve their constituents
• Human Resources and Legal professionals who are looking to understand the potential impact and response of certain threats on their organization's workforce
• Anyone interested in acquiring knowledge and understanding to create, assess, or improve a business resiliency, disaster recovery, cyber security, crisis management, or crisis communications program. 

Office hour sessions will be held several weeks after the program, providing the opportunity to ask in-depth questions after you have had a chance to reflect on the course material.