As organisations face an increasingly complex threat and regulatory environment, a new practitioner-led crisis leadership proposition is launching across the UK. Optimal Crisis Leaders (OCL) is designed to help senior security, resilience and business leaders test their organisational readiness before a crisis occurs.ย
Built around the principle pre-stress to avoid distress, the approach focuses on the critical gap between having a crisis plan and being able to execute it under pressure. It challenges organisations to examine how their people, processes and leadership perform when circumstances change rapidly.ย
The launch comes as businesses navigate developments including NIS2, the European Union’s cyber security law; the CER (Critical Entities Resilience) Directive from the EU, the UK’s NIS Regulations 2018 (covering Network & Information Systems) and the UK Parliament’s progressing Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. Together, these developments are placing greater focus on organisational resilience and effective security decision-making.ย
The programme uses adversarial, double-jeopardy exercises that go beyond conventional table-top testing. These exercises are delivered by practitioners with experience of leading real incidents, providing leadership teams with an opportunity to test assumptions and identify vulnerabilities before they become critical failures.ย The approach is particularly relevant to organisations operating across the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors. These include energy, water, telecommunications, healthcare, financial services, transport and government and defence.ย
It’s led by Mike OโNeill CSyP FSyI CPP PSP and supported by specialists from Optimal Risk, his consultancy. Optimal Crisis Leaders brings together practitioner experience across crisis leadership, security and organisational resilience. Their combined proficiency supports a practical approach to crisis preparedness, with direct involvement across varied sectors.ย
The launch also presents an alternative to traditional ‘Big Four’ consultancy models. While larger consultancies can involve lengthy mobilisation periods and rotating delivery teams, Optimal Crisis Leaders focuses on direct engagement with experienced practitioners. This enables organisations to access founder-led expertise and practical insight at pace.ย The central proposition: a crisis plan is only as strong as an organisation’s ability to use it under pressure. By testing that capability before an incident occurs, OCL aims to help organisations replace assumed readiness with demonstrated readiness. ย
Email: OptimalCrisisLeaders@optimalrisk.comย
