This practical guide helps leaders understand the threat pandemics pose to society, the overall economy, and their businesses. Using illustrative examples, this book helps readers develop business-continuity plans to deal with the economic and medical consequences of a crisis.
A pandemic is an epidemic that covers a huge swath of the country or even the world. And it's just as scary as it sounds: For example, it's estimated that up to a third of the U.S. population could fall ill in an Avian flu pandemic, costing the U.S. economy alone up to $675 billion. Worse, pandemics shatter lives and businesses and tend to rock society to its foundations. But humanity has been through pandemics before. As disaster-management and business-continuity expert Geary Sikich shows in this book, there are ways to make the best of a bad situation. These methods improve the chance that businesses will remain resilient, and people healthy, employed, and productive-even in the darkest days of an international disaster.

Practical and hands on, the book provides step-by-step guidance in the form of evaluation and assessment tools, exercises, and detailed examples. Special tools include an easy-to-use roadmap for developing and maintaining a comprehensive business-continuity plan.