Daman Dev Sood: Giving Back to Society Through Resilience Building.

1. Overview of who I am

My journey began with the strong foundation of my family, who instilled in me the values and support that shaped my life. From a young age, I've always been a caring person – so the seeds of Resilience were sown right in the beginning (though the term wasn't widely used back then) and hard work laid the groundwork for my success.

International travel for work and leisure broadened my horizons by exposing me to new cultures and perspectives. My lifelong dedication to learning further fuelled my pursuit of numerous certifications.

Throughout my career, I've nurtured a variety of interests to maintain balance. Writing became a powerful outlet, allowing me to share my expertise and insights through my books.

My passion for giving back to society led me to contribute to various positive change initiatives. Participating in IEEE has been particularly rewarding, fostering collaboration with brilliant minds and contributions to technological advancement.

Social media served as a platform for sharing my journey and connecting with others, especially during the shift to remote work, It was during this time the importance of flexibility and maintaining connections was highlighted. Although I enjoy connecting, books have always been my passion providing a source of knowledge and inspiration. Books provide solace and help to nurture my love of learning. This mix over the years, has led me to embrace some guiding principles; the 3Rs & 3Cs in both my personal and professional life...

"Resilience, relationships, responsibility" and "collaboration, communication, creativity.”

I have been fortunate to receive multiple national and global awards. A genuine privilege to be recognised for my contributions. However, the true reward lies in the positive impact I've made. Every step, from campaigns to pledges, aimed at serving my nation and humanity as a whole, has been a valuable learning experience.

In essence, I'm a lifelong learner and a passionate professional driven to make a difference. As I look ahead, I'm excited about the challenges, opportunities, and continued growth of my story, which is far from over.

2. What resilience means to me and how I apply resilience

While resilience is my passion, a full exploration would require more space than provided. However, I've authored 10 published books on the topic, available globally. In these books, I delve into my evolving perspectives on the topic.

Just like my perspective, my philosophy has evolved too. Starting somewhere like: "People Make Organisations" to "Resilient People Make Resilient Organisations," which ultimately foster resilient societies and contribute to the resilient planet we all strive for.

Resilience means a lot to me. Resilience encompasses a wide range, starting with respect - for parents, elders, teachers, all genders, religions, cultures, backgrounds, and the environment.

To be personally resilient, I strive for strength – physical, emotional, and financial. Resilience is a constant practice for me, a 24/7 commitment.

My definition of resilience incorporates risk management, crisis management, business continuity management, IT disaster recovery, information and cybersecurity management. Additionally, I integrate operational resilience and organisational resilience into this framework

As a resilience practitioner, I lead by example. A significant portion of my books were written while caring for critically ill patients in hospitals or at home. My younger brother lost life to battle against cancer. A book launch was scheduled for the day following his passing. We held a major ceremony in the morning, followed by the launch in the evening.

By embracing different kinds of experiences, I can now bring creativity, curiosity, and innovation to my practices. My transferrable skills have enabled me to bring innovative ideas forward for Business Continuity Management (BCM) and resilience efforts. This innovative spirit extends to my training programs and crisis management simulations for top management across diverse organisations. Technology is an integral aspect of resilience. While not an IT expert, I readily embrace, utilize, and explore new technologies, including AI.

A few examples or Resilience and innovation and creating an opportunity from crisis at organisational level emerged out during Covid-19 Pandemic:

• Meeting PPE Kit Demand: India was mostly reliant on costly imports from China. So in response to demand, some cloth manufacturers cleverly shifted production from garments like shirts and trousers to desperately needed PPE kits. This not only met domestic demand at a lower cost but also opened doors for export opportunities.

• Sugar Factories to the Rescue: Hand sanitisers became a crucial commodity during the pandemic. Sugar factories, with their readily available by-product alcohol and sanitary production environments. Ment pivoting to start producing hand sanitisers wasn’t a huge jump, again filling a critical need at a lower cost.

• Automakers Step Up: Automobile manufacturers showcased their adaptability by diversifying their production lines to include ventilators, another critical piece of equipment in the fight against COVID-19.

These examples demonstrate the importance of organizational resilience. Building resilience is a continuous journey of transformation, not a one-time event.

My recommended formula is a journey from Risk to Organisational Resilience as

• Risk Management=>

• Enterprise Risk Management=>

• Governance Risk and Compliance=>

• Business Continuity Management=>

• Operational Resilience=>

• Operational Excellence=>

• Organisational Resilience.

For a more detailed exploration of this framework, you can watch my talk here:

I believe it is important to always contribute. So my way of contributing to a more resilient society, I dedicate a portion of my time to NGOs, training their employees in risk management and resilience. I also work with students from these NGOs and universities, enhancing their industry readiness and thus, their resilience.

Personally, I strive to continuously learn and grow to become more resilient. A recent, albeit difficult (while very difficult to share from the personal space) is when my father-in-law passed away. To help others I wrote about my story of Personal Resilience at here.

3. What I am Working On

Currently, I'm implementing BCM at a pharmaceutical company. This is a new and exciting challenge due to the unique considerations of pharma manufacturing compared to other industries. I also recently completed a six-month BCM competency assessment and enhancement project for a client in the utilities sector (power and water). The project's sheer size and scope make it a unique achievement.

In addition to the above, I've completed various training and consulting assignments across diverse sectors like insurance, aviation, media, and power.

• October 2024 saw the global release of my 10th book, My Experiments with Third Party Risk Management.

• This topic also formed the basis for my presentation at the BCI World Hybrid Conference in London on October 30th-31st, 2024.

• This month also marked the release of my fourth course on Udemy - Certified Operational Risk Management and Operational Resilience Specialist Course, available for both online and in-person delivery.

My commitment to giving back continues with plans to publish my 11th book in 2025 (title to be determined) and develop risk registers and integrated resiliency policies for an NGO (all volunteer work). I also advocate beyond a resilient planet by advocating for sustainability. For the past 14 years, leading by example through bi-annual donations e-waste. My commitment to environmental sustainability remains unwavering.

I have miles to go before I rest!