Crisis Management & Business Resiliency

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, government response — from the experts involved with these efforts. We also examine strategies for job and career improvement. You will have the opportunity to interact 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 resiliency, disaster recovery, and crisis management program. This includes the course manual (PDFs), templates, and current articles. You will gain valuable contacts, have plenty of networking opportunities during and after class, and acquire insights for immediate implementation.

COVID-19 Updates

We fully expect to hold on-campus Short Programs courses during the Summer of 2023. However, the possibility remains of ongoing disruption and restrictions due to COVID-19 which may require that the course be delivered via live virtual format. Please read more here.

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 24

• Welcome and Introductions
  • Faculty Introductions
  • Course Information
  • Student Introductions
    • Steve Goldman, Dick Larson, Lou DiBerardinis, 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, Income Research + Management, Inc.

• How to Speak, Eat, and Drive like a Bostonian!
  • Steve Goldman, MIT

Class and Faculty Reception, MIT Samberg Center

DAY TWO – Tuesday, July 25

• 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
  • Dr. Abel Sanchez, MIT

- - - - Lunch - - - -

• IT / DR: Trends and Technology
  • Naveen Chhabra, Forrester Research                                                                                
• Emergency Preparedness & the Dimensions of Meta-Leadership
  • Eric McNulty, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, Harvard University

Duck Boat Tour and New England Lobster (or other) Dinner

DAY THREE – Wednesday, July 26

At the FEMA Federal Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC)

• Local / Hazmat Planning and Response
  • Bill VanSchalkwyk, Groton MA FD (ret) and Harvard EHS
     
• State Planning and Response
  • Allen Phillips, MA Emergency Management Agency
     
• Federal Planning and Response
  • John McGough, US Dept. of Homeland Security

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

• Working with the FBI on Data Breaches and Terrorism
  • Special Agents Brian LeBlanc and Doug Domin, FBI
     
• Crisis Simulation Briefing
  • Steve Goldman, MIT

DAY FOUR – Thursday, July 27

The News Media, Social Media, and Your Crisis: What We Are Going to Do to You!

• Social Media Issues and Crisis Response
  • Katie Nelson, Police Dept., Mountain View, CA 

• Newspapers/Radio/Websites
  • Joe Sciacca, Editor-in-Chief (retired), The Boston Herald; Enterprise Editor, WHDH-TV 7NEWS
     
• Television/Visual Media
  • Howard B. Price, Network TV News Editor and Producer

- - - - Lunch - - - -

• 12 Activations in 12 Months - plus a Pandemic!
  • Bob Vance, Keck Medicine of USC

• Building the Plane while Flying it: Organizational Resilience
  • Zona Walton, Senior Director - Global Business Resiliency, ADP
     
• Modeling Crisis Planning and Response
  • ​​​​​​​Dick Larson, MIT

DAY FIVE – Friday, July 28

• Industry Trends: Impact on Your Program and Your Career
  • Cheyene Marling, Witt-O'Brien's
     
• Leadership Insights for the BR Manager
  • Steve Goldman, MIT

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, Lou DiBerardinis, Howard Price, Joe Sciacca, Bill VanSchalkwyk, Mark Carroll, others

- - - - Lunch - - - -

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

Also included with your Registration:

• MIT Professional Education Crisis Course ID on MIT lanyard
• MIT Professional Education Tote Bag, Notepaper, and Pen
• Course Attendee Roster
• 15% Discount to the MIT/Harvard Coop Campus Store (https://store.thecoop.com/)
• Campus and local area information, guides, and maps
• Access to MIT Gym facilities
• 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*
• Tuesday evening DuckBoat Tour (https://bostonducktours.com/ )*
• Optional Tour of MIT Sunday, July 23 or Friday July 29*
• Book by Lecturer Eric McNulty “YOU'RE IT: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When it Matters Most”
• Book by Lecturer Yossi Sheffi “THE NEW (AB)NORMAL: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19”
• Seminar and lessons on how to speak, eat, and drive like a Bostonian!
• Many networking opportunities
• Access to speakers before, 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.