BCM Testing Through Simulations: What Businesses Can Learn from Pilots

For many organizations, Business Continuity Management (BCM) is just a compliance checkbox—a requirement to be met rather than a vital strategy to ensure resilience. But ticking off a box doesn’t prepare a company to recover quickly from a crisis. In reality, many businesses are far from ready when disaster strikes.

One of the biggest challenges is that recovery procedures are often poorly documented or overly complex. Even when companies have detailed plans in place, they tend to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, making it impossible to locate the right response plan in the midst of a crisis. When time is of the essence, no organization can afford to sift through a mountain of procedures.

This is exactly why DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) places a strong emphasis on testing BCM strategies, not just documenting them. But if companies struggle to test and refine their own internal procedures, how can they possibly ensure resilience across their entire supply chain?

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The Pilot Training Approach: A Blueprint for BCM Success

Pilots face a similar challenge: they are responsible for a vast number of procedures. In fact, if printed, the combined operational manuals of commercial airlines would span around 15,000 pages—far more than any pilot could memorize. Yet, pilots handle crises more effectively than most companies in critical industries.

Why? Because instead of just reading through procedures, pilots train intensively through simulations. They don’t just learn what to do on paper—they practice handling real-time emergencies in flight simulators, again and again, until their responses become second nature. But crucially, pilots are also trained to know where to find the right information quickly. They don’t memorize everything—they practice accessing checklists, manuals, and protocols efficiently under pressure.

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Focus and Leadership in Crisis Situations

Pilots are also trained to focus on the situation at hand. During take-off and landing—critical phases of flight—non-essential communication is strictly prohibited. They speak only when necessary, responding to the air tower, the flight computer, or the other pilot. There is a clear communication protocol with a strict hierarchical command structure, ensuring that decisions are made quickly and without confusion.

Now, consider your company: Does the person in charge during a crisis actually know they are in charge?

In many business disruptions, confusion over decision-making authority leads to delays, miscommunication, and ineffective responses. If your crisis management team doesn’t have a clear chain of command, your organization is at risk of failure when a real incident occurs.

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Outdated BCM Standards? Why ISO 22301 Falls Short

Standards like ISO 22301 provide a framework for business continuity, but they often fall short in execution. Many companies treat these standards as theoretical checklists rather than dynamic strategies. The reality is that static documentation is not enough in a rapidly evolving risk landscape.

Unlike regulatory bodies that mandate testing (such as the aviation industry or financial regulations like DORA), ISO 22301 doesn’t go far enough in enforcing real-world simulations. This makes it a useful guideline but an insufficient solution. Without frequent testing, even a well-designed continuity plan will fail under real-world pressure.

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The Only Solution: Practice, Practice, and More Practice

The best continuity plans in the world are useless if no one knows how to execute them under stress. Just as pilots train for crisis scenarios until their response becomes instinctive, businesses must simulate crises regularly to ensure their teams are ready.

Additionally, just like pilots, employees must not only know their role in a crisis but also know where to quickly find the right guidance. Training should focus on accessing critical information efficiently, rather than relying on overwhelming, impractical documentation.

Most importantly, decision-makers must be trained to lead with authority during high-pressure situations. If leadership is unclear, slow, or uncoordinated, the entire business continuity plan falls apart.

Is your organization truly crisis-ready? Does your leadership team know what to do when it matters most? Let’s build resilience together!