Women in resilience (WiR) - Ally Spotlight: John Jackson
John Jackson has been involved in Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity for over 40 years. His career journey has lead him to roles in the vendor recovery center, participating in several hundred recoveries. As well as consulting, which gives him insight into hundreds, if not thousands of organizations, his work on BC Software played an instrumental role in him launching several industry software products.
Now retired in Scottsdale, still actively contributing to the industry, John is not only a BCI US Chapter board member; but a DRJ Executive Council member, a Continuity Insights Editorial Board member and the founding Chairman of the InfraGard Business Continuity Cross Sector Council.
He holds an honorary Fellow (FBCI) certification and is the only recipient of BCI’s US Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award and is one of only two Global BCI Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.
In this spotlight series, John joins WiR to discuss allyship, putting women at the forefront and looking at how men can support women in resilience.
Q. Why do you believe it is important for more women to join the resilience field?
I guess my first response to this question is “Why Not?” I have worked alongside women in all sorts of positions in the Business Continuity field. Business Continuity requires relationships, critical thinking, being adaptive, outgoing and well educated, as well as having excellent written and verbal communication skills. All attributes most women I know and have worked with excel at.
Q. How do you feel that you have personally contributed as an ally to others?
One of my proudest relationships is with Ann Pickren, who holds a senior executive position with Onsolve. I hired Ann at Comdisco to run our consulting organization and she has been a stellar contributor to the BC industry ever since.
Another proud relationship is with Lynn LeMyre, who I worked with at IBM BCRS. I needed a senior manager to run IBM’s Sterling Forest Recovery Center and promoted Lynn into that role, where she excelled.
Two other fantastic ladies I have worked with and I think mentored to varying degrees are Tracey Rice and Bogdana Sardak, who I worked with at Fusion Risk Management. Both of these ladies have been terrific contributors to the industry overall and I am proud to call them both friends and colleagues. Tracey may argue she mentors me, but since this is my answer, I get to decide!!!
Q. What are some challenges which you have supported women in overcoming in their career?
This is a tough one to answer – as I have worked with strong women who dealt with challenges on their own. If I was to call out one, I think it might be situations where I promoted a woman into a position over other qualified candidates, men and women alike, and probably offered some advice and counsel as to how to deal with some “sour grapes”. Bottom line is do your best, earn respect and you will be fine.
Q. Which schemes have you seen work effectively in your team and organisation to promote women?
Honestly, I think organizations like BCI’s Women in Resilience are a great example of what you probably refer to as “Schemes”.
Having women take on volunteer or leadership roles in industry organizations is a great way to create exposure and build confidence. Also writing for industry journals, speaking at conferences and being a Mentor to new BC professionals are additional ways to position yourself for more responsibility.
Q. What advice would you give to other men to encourage them to contribute as an ally to women in resilience?
Treat everyone as a peer and recognise people for their accomplishments and contributions. Encourage women to become active industry contributors and become known in the industry like Ann, Tracey, Lynn and Bogdana have done. Mentoring is another way to help upcoming professionals gain skills and build their resumes. Look for ways to reach out and help our industry grow.
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