DRI Board Spotlight: Mike Janko
The boards of DRI International and the DRI Foundation are comprised of some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable professionals in BCM and resilience, working together to make DRI an indispensable, inclusive, and diverse organization. In this ongoing series of interviews with the board members, you’ll learn more about them and why they’re passionate about the resilience community.
Mike Janko
Mike Janko, MBCP, CBCLA, is Director of Global Business Continuity for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. He is Goodyear’s “Director of Uncertainty”, being responsible for strategic and tactical business continuity related activities for Goodyear’s global operations. He has many, many years of experience in all aspects of business continuity. Included are some of today’s most important topics such as supply chain incidents, extreme weather events, infectious disease, political challenges, collective bargaining agreements and cyber risks. He is a Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP), Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Certified Business Continuity Lead Auditor (CBCLA) and Certified Engineering Operations Executive (CEOE), with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He leads over 400 Goodyear associates globally in support of Goodyear’s Business Continuity process. They have the following common focus on resilience: “The Only Thing Harder Than Planning For Incidents Is Explaining Why You Didn’t.” Mike represents Goodyear as a Director of DRI International and as a voting member of the NFPA 1600 Business Continuity Standard Technical Committee.
How did you first come into the BCM/resilience field?
My first job out of college as a Mechanical Engineer developed into being the Stouffer Hotels and Resorts Engineering Manager a few years later including managing $7 million budget for retrofitting hotel sprinklers and alarms. I became an NFPA 72 Technical Committee Voting Member and skilled at life safety, emergency management, code compliance. I took on similar role with Nestle USA (parent company) with their 3+ million sq. ft. manufacturing plants 2+ million sq. ft. logistics centers. I came to Goodyear in the late 1990’s as Loss Prevention and Control Manager in Global Risk Management. I proposed the BC Process to Goodyear after seeing the need for it during 9/11. We built it across entire global footprint, and it became known as a best practice in the private sector for manufacturing and supply chain. I joined NFPA 1600 as voting Technical Committee member shortly afterwards. Goodyear was recognized by DRI for these accomplishments and I was asked to be on the BOD afterwards.
Why did you accept a position on the DRI Board?
I take great pride in what our team’s accomplished after using the DRI Professional Practices and NFPA 1600 for process standards. I will always believe this is one way I can give back to the BC community for the value and benefit I received from being aligned with DRI for 20+ years. There are a great many awesome practitioners I have met along the way, benchmarked and have learned from. This could not have happened without the partnership, mentoring and friendship of Al Berman, Mike Morganti and other BOD members.
What is your proudest moment or most valuable contribution as a DRI board member?
Consistently applying my knowledge from the private sector in decisions we make to benefit our Certified Professionals. Also, receiving my Challenge Coin from the Order of The Sword and Shield with my wife Debbie in attendance was a very proud and unexpected moment. Surprises are always the best along with recognition from professional peers. Nothing like it!
What new responsibilities or skill sets do you think resilience professionals should take on?
Build continuous improvement into everything you do! You are never doing as well as you think you are, and you are always a bit better than when you believe you have hit a roadblock. Build the DRI Professional Practices into your thinking process and look for any gaps and improve upon them.
What words of wisdom do you have for resilience professionals?
Your teams have likely accomplished a great deal this past year during COVID-19’s impact. Leverage your accomplishments in supporting your associates and the business to build your business continuity program to greater heights in your organizations. Never stop, since risks and challenges surely will not. Give credit to your team members. Everyone knows who drives the race car when it completes the course and wins, yet you need the entire team to win.
What’s one interesting or unique thing that we should know about you?
My interest in the martial arts helped me to attain my 5th Degree Black belt in Minna Jiu Jitsu in 1996. I work out every day and have done so since the early 1980’s. You must remain both mentally and physically fit. I challenge myself with a major fitness goal every year. I have won every cardio challenge Goodyear had for teams and/or individuals since they began 12 weeks challenges over the summer about 6 years ago. In 2016 I set the World Record as recognized by Record Setter and Book of Alternative Records for completing 47 Marine Corps Style Sit Ups in 30 seconds and 87 in 60 seconds (followed what Guinness World Records requires for any record – applied to them yet they do not recognize sit up records so this was my BC/alternate Plan). Earlier this year my direct manager informed me of his family (all great athletes) trying to do 100 burpees in under 10 minutes. I had never done burpees as part of my workout routine yet love a challenge. In 2 weeks I completed 100 burpees with full push ups in under 9 minutes and 40 seconds. Challenging yourself to what seems unattainable yields great results and fond memories.