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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, School Safety

  In a recent Boston Globe article, several Massachusetts school administrators discussed how they were implementing (or not implementing) the new state requirements for bullying. The new anti-bullying law can potentially expose schools — and individual staffers — to lawsuits by parents or state authorities if incidents of bullying are not handled properly. One of the key requirements is for school leaders to thoroughly investigate all reports of bullying and document actions taken.  One superintendent claimed, “I like to keep the informal stuff in my head.”  But, keeping informal reports and incidents in one faculty member’s head provides no documentation of a student skipping school,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  As the end of 2010 approaches, it is a great time to review lessons learned and decide where you need to be to ensure better results in 2011. Lessons learned from WikiLeaks, OCR and NSBA Dear Colleague letters, breaches, lawsuits, fines and numerous other failures clearly reveal how risks, threats, regulations, liabilities, vulnerabilities and obligations are changing.  Are you, your entire organization and your partners prepared for 2011? Status quo is not the way to keep up with change and status quo is clearly taking a serious toll on organizations around the world. Status quo is also expensive and perhaps Albert Einstein said itRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety

  Natasha Alam from True Blood has joined the growing list of celebrities speaking out publicly against bullying.  Celebrities are raising awareness and bringing attention to this escalating challenge. Alam recently filmed an anti-bullying public service announcement (PSA), click here to learn more. Canada recently targeted bullying with their National Bullying Awareness Week and the UK recently promoted the Big March to bring attention to bullying, violence and harassment in schools. Each of these efforts encourages people to speak out about bullying and victimization, and adults are being urged to listen.  These campaigns also mention prevention, the need for awareness and how everyone (students, parents,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Emergency Management, School Safety, Workplace Violence

  Tips prevent a lot of bad things from happening within organizations, but tips alone are not the answer based on recent lessons learned.  The Christmas Day Bomber attack was prevented and lives saved thanks to tips, but also thanks to the FBI’s proactive efforts in confidentially sharing information with other key players, such as law enforcement and local government. An anonymous tip from Saudi Arabian intelligence helped to locate package bombs that were sent from Yemen.  No doubt these package bombs could have caused a lot of damage and loss of lives, had specialized prevention teams not taken proactive actions to locate and confiscate theRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Emergency Management, Risk Management

All of this TSA stuff on the news is getting a little crazy…it almost seems like the media is looking for passengers who are looking for attention. But once again the lessons learned are clear…at least if we all agree on the primary goal. Hopefully everyone agrees that our main goal is safety and national security, because I don’t know about you, but when I am flying through the clouds at 35,000 feet I do not want the plane to blow up. So if we are all in agreement, then it comes down to human beings – pilots, passengers and security personnel – having situationalRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Emergency Management, Incident Reporting

  Airline security is a hot topic and it reminded me about my experiences flying to Israel earlier this year. Have you ever flown into or out of Israel?  I flew in and out of Tel Aviv this past year and the differences between airline security in the USA and Israel were like night and day in so many ways. Have you heard of Isaac Yeffet? For those of you who do not know, Isaac Yeffet is the former head of security for El Al of Israel.  In an interview I listened to last night, Yeffet said…”technology in general can never replace a qualified andRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Human Resources, Incident Reporting, Information Security, Regulatory Compliance

  General Information Personally Identifiable Information Intelligence Information Industry Information Regulatory Information Legal Information Risk Information Customer Information Emergency Information Competitive Information Etc…. Most people and their organizations would agree they are overwhelmed by information that is spread all over in e-mails, web sites, binders, intranets, etc. BUT, most people and their organizations would also agree they are not overwhelmed by awareness, and more specifically they are not overwhelmed by Situational Awareness. Lessons learned continue to reveal that just having information is not enough.  Most of the highly publicized tragedies and incidents reveal that information in the form of red flags or intelligence or riskRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  November 17, 2010 6:00 PM 1240 AM KFOR Lincoln, NE Awareity is proud to announce that Rick Shaw, President and CEO, will be featured in an interview on November 17 discussing his experiences as an entrepreneur, what led him to Awareity and how lessons learned continue to play a role in developing new services and solutions. The Pursuit of Success is a local radio show sponsored by Leadership Resources and Waddell and Reed Financial Advisors showcasing regional entrepreneurs, business and community leaders, sharing key ideas of success designed to help other become more successful while making an impact in their company and community. TheRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Emergency Management, Incident Reporting, Information Security, Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management

  How is your incident reporting system working for you?  Or perhaps the question should be – Is your incident reporting system working against you? Lessons learned continue to show that organizations find themselves in ‘reaction mode’ more than they are in ‘prevention mode’.  How can this be when most every organization claims to have an incident reporting system in place? Are traditional incident reporting systems obsolete? Multiple surveys reveal that 90% of bystanders who witness a bullying incident DO NOT report the incident.  So why aren’t bystanders not reporting incidents? Perhaps bystanders are not reporting because of one or more of the following reasons:Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Regulatory Compliance, School Safety

  Legislators in New Jersey have proposed what may be the toughest anti-bullying law in the nation with a “bill of rights” as its charter.  On the heels of the recent tragedy at Rutgers University when freshman Tyler Clementi jumped to his death, the proposed legislation builds on current laws that have not adequately protected students who are intimidated every day. New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights would: Apply to bullying at school, near school and on school buses and to cyberbullying. Require training for nearly all school employees on how to identify, prevent and report acts of intimidation Set deadlines for incidents of bullyingRead More →