There’s a certain breed of sportsman that’s instantly recognizable. Although it occurs in other sports, the phenomenon is most prevalent in golf, and any serious golfer will have observed it on numerous occasions.

This type of golfer has all the latest, most expensive equipment so they really look the part. Until, that is, they get onto the first tee, whereupon they scuff their drive or lash it sideways into the trees, water, rough or adjacent fairway – or miss the ball completely. Because, whilst they might have all the flashy gear, they have little or no golfing ability. And no amount of whizzy kit or equipment is going to improve their game, because the basics just aren’t there.

A similar phenomenon can sometimes be observed in the world of business continuity management. Before doing anything else, a misguided individual buys the whizziest looking, most expensive tools they can find, believing that this is all that’s required to implement a robust, fit for purpose business continuity capability. They mistakenly think that these tools will miraculously do everything for them. But, because they don’t really have the knowledge or experience to use them properly, and because they haven’t done the groundwork first, they’re often disappointed with the results.

Whilst there are undoubtedly some excellent tools available that can assist an organisation to improve its business continuity capability, those tools on their own won’t magically provide that capability if it’s not there in the first place. There’s usually a bit more to it than that. Ask any proper golfer.