Top 10 Disaster Empire Blogs

By Ashley Goosman

Year-end review

The Top 5 podcasts article was so popular I decided to round out the year with a Top 10 Disaster Empire blog. The end of the year is famous for annual reviews, so I thought I’d add to it! It was quite a year–from getting back to conferences–check out my In Praise Of Conferences post–to the War in Ukraine. I wrote a three-part series on Civil Unrest related to the growing conflict, and you can start with the first installment, Preparing For Civil Unrest & Incursions, if you missed it last February.

I always find that I’m reflective when closing out the calendar year. For me, it’s the start of the winter season in North America. It gets cold and rainy here, and we usually have a few Nor’Easters blow through. Generally, it’s gray, and the snow starts in late January or February. So, I find myself holding on to the bright holiday season before the dark of winter sets in. With that in mind, I often grab a few good books and catch up on my reading.

Ending the year with gratitude

If you tend to do this as well, I hope this blog adds to your seasonal reading–regardless of what hemisphere you’re in. My aim with Disaster Empire is to be a platform for industry voices and to add my spin on relevant topics. However, returning to topics like Business Impact Analysis or different approaches is always meaningful, as Mark Armour and I did on Adaptive Business Continuity in our recent podcast.

This blog is the last one of 2022, so I wanted to wrap it up with something light (a top ten) and wish you the best of the New Year. Disaster Empire wouldn’t exist without you. Otherwise, it would just be me writing an online journal. Instead, it is a platform to share ideas, and with the podcast, it evolved into what I knew it could be–a place for your voices to be heard. To all of my guests and outstanding vendor Thought Leaders–keep doing what you are doing and blaze a trail into 2023. If the last few years are any indication, we need all of us to continue to build resilience together.

Scoring the top ten blogs of 2022

The list is based on the top pageviews of 2022 blogs I published on the Disaster Empire website. My goal was to reach 100 posts. I achieved 73, and sixteen podcasts are uploaded to the YouTube site, making eighty-nine offerings! If you haven’t subscribed to the Disaster Empire newsletter or YouTube site, please do–it helps me know you appreciate the content.

I can tell you are hungry for practical knowledge that provides actionable content. So, my goal is to bring you more of that in 2023. In the meantime, I invite you to go back and check out the blogs you missed.

And now, the list!

Without further ado, here’s the 2022 top ten list:

Is BCM A Sham? – Far and away, you engaged with my musings on Business Continuity Management (BCM) and its importance to Business Resilience.
ISO For Crisis Management – Next, you loved my teaser piece on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidance for crisis management.
Is ISO 22361:2022 CM Worthwhile? – It is no surprise that you read my follow-up once the standard got published.
Summer 2022 Power Outage Risk – You ate up this blog about the increased threat caused by failing infrastructure and heightened risk due to expanded remote work arrangements. If you haven’t already, I suggest you read my follow-up, Should You Worry About Winter Power Outages?
Do you have resources to manage a crisis? – My mid-pack performer was this gem. I laid out a framework and suggested tools to help you manage events.
Is The Crisis Management ISO Valuable? – Keeping on the crisis theme, it makes sense that you were keen on my analysis of the standard. You are into tracking regulations. So, I will keep that in mind for future posts.
Unlearn Lumière’s Law – Were you as intrigued by Jeff Shannon’s work on executive leadership as I am? I hope so! You certainly got into reading my take on the concept and my application for industry professionals.
What Disaster Empire Quick Views Is – Thanks for coming along with me to launch my podcast on YouTube. It reaffirmed the mission, and I appreciate your support.
What Executive Presence Is – I was inspired by Jeff Shannon‘s lecture and book, Hard Work is Not Enough. As with any good book, I try to apply it professionally. I was happy to see you got something out of it, too.
What Resiliency Success Measures Look Like – Rounding out the Top 10 is an article aligned with my Road to Resilience Series.

Honorable mentions & end-of-year reading list

Hopefully, you feel good about closing out 2022. It was not as difficult as the prior two years but still challenging. All of my articles are labors of love so thank you for choosing your favorites. I will take a holiday break and catch up on my reading. I’ve got Adaptive Business Continuity and Brendan Monahan’s Strategic Corporate Crisis Management on deck. Look for my podcast with Brendan coming up in January.

Over the year, my first guest blogger took a risk and shared his thoughts on Disaster Empire. So, I would be remiss not to share Kenton Friesen’s articles with you. They were a hit with my followers. He wrote a two-part piece:

I’m so grateful to Kenton for translating this fifteen-minute talk to the Business Continuity Resilience Insurance Network (BCRIN) into an article for the website.

Starting off 2023 with thankulness & joy

Many of you know that my husband and I lost our beloved greyhound Della in the Fall. It’s been hard without her, and we are still learning to navigate the loss. She brought us so much joy, including lots of unintended humor. We miss her terribly, but she was suffering. As we move into 2023, I cherish the memories but am looking to make new ones in the year ahead. I am thankful to all of you for your continued support of this effort. Please comment on what your favorite blog was below.

I am making plans–both professionally and personally– to expand the positive impact I can make. The New Year and Wintertime are ripe for shedding old habits and being replaced by new ones, hopefully healthy! Engaging in Self-Care For Disaster Professionals is essential to help you stay on top of your game and ready for what life throws us next. As Kati Belfi stressed during our podcast discussion, it’s essential to take a holistic approach to resilience, which means individual and business-oriented. The past year was another tough one, but I am confident we’ll get through whatever 2023 has in store by supporting each other.

Did you know?

Disaster Empire blogs contain embedded links to source materials, articles of interest, videos, books, and training I recommend. Just click on the blue embedded link to access the resource.

Charitable Giving Opportunity:

Overwatch Foundation – This is an organization of US Military Veterans providing critical natural disaster relief & urgent humanitarian response. I learned of them watching an episode of the Shaw Ryan Show. Overwatch supports soldiers in Ukraine and recently completed a mission in Florida post-Hurricane Ian. Check them out, and please give if their work resonates with you.