Why your Business Continuity drills might be giving you false confidence.
The Illusion of Readiness
Annual tabletop exercises & BCP drills often look impressive…
…but they rarely reflect reality.
They create a false sense of security, not true preparedness.
What’s Really Happening?
These exercises are often controlled, scripted, and predictable.
- Clear timelines
- Known problems
- Calm participants
Real crises? Messy. Prolonged. Chaotic.
What They Fail to Simulate
- Human behavior under stress
- Cascading failures over time
- Complex, interconnected dependencies
- Emotional fatigue & poor decisions
The chaos of reality is missing.
The Risk of Overconfidence
- We passed the test = We’re ready
- Success in drills = Less investment needed
- Planning in theory = Failure in practice
This mindset leaves organizations vulnerable.
How to Do Better
- Design exercises to spiral into chaos
- Run scenarios that extend over time
- Involve external actors (media, regulators, vendors)
- Debrief with brutal honesty, not celebration
BCM: Theater vs. True Resilience
Testing Theater = 
True Resilience = 
Prepare for complexity, ambiguity, & human error — not just a checklist.
Final Thought
Business Continuity Management readiness isn’t proven by passing a drill.
It’s proven by facing failure, learning, adapting.
Stop rehearsing success.
Start building resilience.
