I’m going to give you an example of something you are glad – very glad – failed. And tell you why it failed. Spoiler alert: it’s the same thing that causes businesses to fail when they aren’t doing business continuity practices. It’s the German Atomic Bomb Program under Hitler.
I’m really going there.
I recently visited the National Museum of Atomic Energy and History in Albuquerque, NM. As you know by now, my brain never shuts off. A brief history:
Uranium fission was discovered in Berlin in 1938. In 1939 the German armed forces established an office to study the military use of nuclear fission. Once Germany started WWII, it took advantage of the great spoils to advance their own atomic research – a source of heavy water, uranium compounds, and a half-built cyclotron. By 1941 they were winning the nuclear race. Eventually the British and US scientists took this discovery – and the fear the Germans would use it first – to start the Manhattan Project in 1942.
With this much a lead-time, how did the Germans fail?
- The bomb program was not a priority. They were more interested in quick victories than long-term gains. [Replace “bomb” with “business continuity” and re-read that]
- There was never cohesive leadership and it was fraught by internal conflicts. [Leadership buy-in in key to business continuity as well as silos being porous/working together]
- Lack of resources due to bad economy and Allied bombing. [Business continuity only really takes an investment of time and effort]
- Focus on other physics over experimental physics. [This is the hesitant business owner focusing on the what-we-know vs what-could-be-possible]
- The lead scientist made a scientific error due to misconceptions about an explosive chain reaction and nuclear fission. [‘I’ll be fine, it won’t happen to me. What really is the risk?”]
The world got lucky Germany failed to do some basic things that would have led to their Atomic Bomb Program’s success. This is in no way advocating for the success of the Nazis. The simple things I listed came directly from a display I took a picture of in the museum (see below).
That’s all it took for them to fail. That’s all it took to change the course of history. Each one of those things are common reasons business owners use for not doing business continuity. Each one of these things are short-sighted barriers to ultimate success.
If these simple concepts hamstrung a global superpower, see what not doing them does for your business. Business continuity is a competitive advantage. The very principles that allow you to succeed and get ahead of your competition are the very ones that leave them putting up the closed sign when they don't do them (sometimes for the best).
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