That was advice given to me in a sitdown with a Colonel when I was about to graduate JAG School. His point was that most bad things could be avoided with better judgment a few decisions earlier. That's how I see business continuity: the good decision you make earlier...but what also can save you from the bad decisions you already made.
This is not uncommon to see in supply chain - Boeing is responsible for a lot of mistakes that added up to people dying in their planes. The mistake started innocuously with a culture shift that went towards profit over quality. Instead of everything being done in-house, Boeing started contracting out to third parties. Who were not limited in their sub-contracting out to other parties. Many decisions later, there basically is no quality control.
I'll throw in something more pervasive as an example being that I just finished reading We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel - the story of the day Dylan Roof entered a black church and killed 9 people. Very little of the book is spent on the actual shooting. Most of it outlines the culture of the city throughout Charleston's history that aided in forming the intent to kill. Years of failed measures to remove the confederate flag from the state capital were finally fast tracked with success when one of the victims would have to lay in state at the capital. Suddenly it mattered greatly when it was too little, too late, but gave hope for the future.
A lot of businesses do not put an emphasis on resilience. A lot of time the priority is making money or what will make more money. That is very short sighted as you both need a business and one that can operate to make money.
The decision to not invest in or promote business continuity takes an organization down a track of "it can wait" or "it's not that important" or "we're fine, it won't happen here" if it is even given that much consideration at all. That one decision is what leads business owners down a path 7 mistakes later to an ugly problem that may well wind up killing their business. How's that robust marketing budget working out when your business and everything in it was destroyed?
Coming back from a mistake is an option for some. You take some lumps but you learn for next time. You could also rate yourself a success for having survived, but be a better success next time - one without stress, wasted time, high emotions, and even more risk.
As an aside, the book made me consider something I never had to since I was never exposed to the issue: what to do with all items left as a memorial on the site. That's also a business continuity issue I now have a solution for.
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