Resilience is not about preventing every disruption. It is about knowing what must continue when disruption occurs - and having the capability to protect it.

ISO 22301: The Executive Guide to Operational Resilience is a practical guide for managers, operational leaders, business continuity professionals and assurance practitioners who need to understand how effective business continuity works in real organisations.

Written by senior operations, risk, resilience and compliance leader Robert Porter, this guide moves beyond simply having a business continuity plan. It examines how organisations identify what matters, understand disruption risk, establish recovery priorities and give people the authority and resources to respond effectively under pressure.

Drawing on the principles of ISO 22301 and practical operational experience, readers will explore:

• Business continuity management systems (BCMS)

• Business impact analysis and recovery priorities

• Disruption risk and continuity strategies

• People, premises, technology and supplier dependencies

• Response structures and decision-making authority

• Crisis communication and stakeholder management

• Building continuity plans people can actually use

• Exercises, simulations and capability testing

• Recovery, controlled return and organisational learning

• Supplier assurance and critical dependencies

• Climate-related resilience considerations

• Internal audit, management review and continual improvement

• Preparing responsibly for future revisions of ISO 22301

The book also includes an Executive Resilience Scorecard, providing a practical way to assess governance, business impact analysis, risk, strategy, plans, people, suppliers, technology, exercises, recovery and assurance.

Whether you are responsible for operations, business continuity, risk, compliance or organisational leadership, this guide connects management-system principles with the realities of maintaining critical services when normal arrangements fail.

Anticipate disruption. Respond with authority. Recover what matters. Learn and strengthen.

This is an independent educational guide and is not an official ISO publication or a substitute for authorised ISO standards.