Interview with Author Michele L. Turner
Michele L. Turner, MBCP, FBCI, CISA, CRISC, CCRP, is an author and resiliency leader with close to 30 years’ experience in the areas of Governance, Risk, and Compliance. Michele has a Master’s of Science degree in Business Continuity from Norwich University, and is currently the Head of Global Business Resiliency for Amazon. Turner is an international speaker on the topic of Business Continuity, Risk Management, and related areas. She is a requested guest lecturer at the University of Washington, on such topics as Cyber Security and Operational Risk, and a Course Instructor and Board Director for Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) and Foundation. She is on the board of the Seattle Public Library Foundation, as well as the Advisory Council of the Homeland Security Emergency Management- Center of Excellence.
Hello Author Michele L. Turner, Welcome to WorldAuthors.Org! Tell us something about yourself?
From a corporate perspective, I’ve been in the Business Continuity, Risk, and Crisis Management industry for close to 30 years. During this timeframe, I’ve assisted organizations in identifying risks which could impact the business, and engage in building plans and procedures to support their recovery, come rain…or shine. From a personal perspective, I am an art lover, and enjoy collecting books signed by famous authors. In addition, I am a mother of 3, and grandmother of 2 amazing grandsons.
Your book, “Lessons Learned: Short Stories of Continuity and Resilience ”, was published recently. To begin with, could you tell those who don’t know much about the book?
My book shares personal stories with a business twist, and lessons learned for both. Assisting organizations with their risks, assisting them with their resilience…this involves parsing through data to get to the critical nuggets. That’s how life is- so many events, situations, and interruptions that we have to parse through to get to clarity. Clarity leading to acknowledgement of lessons that once applied, can be considered learned.
What inspired your debut?
Over the years, there have been many lessons learned. At times, when dealing with major life events such as significant health concerns, a reduction in force, or finding work/life harmony vs. balance, I felt that just connecting with someone who may have gone through a similar event would have been helpful. I wanted to be that connection for others. Whether others have a corporate background or not, if the risk methodology that I had developed helped organizations, there should be some way to apply it to life risks as well…right? This is where PARSE ™ comes in to play- Prepare, Assess, Remediate, Sustain, and Examine. Each chapter of the book provides a personal story, with lessons learned aligning to this acronym from both a personal and professional perspective.
What is your process of writing a book?
For me, without an outline to organize thoughts, it is very possible that “analysis paralysis” will set in with. That initial outline is important for structure. With that outline, I begin to document ideas and thoughts, a few in each outline section/chapter. Once I have ideas that I feel will flow well, I begin to write chapter by chapter strengthening the idea, and taking breaks when necessary as not to get overwhelmed or let frustration set in when writers block occurs. I celebrate after each chapter to continue to motivate myself to continue tell the story.
What book are you planning to write next?
I’ll try my hand at fiction for the next one 🙂.
Finally, what advice do you have for aspiring authors?
It is totally fine to slow down, even take a break, but don’t quit. You have a story to tell not just for yourself, but perhaps one that will potentially help others.
Where can our readers find you online?
My website: www.m2turnerauthor.com, Amazon and Instagram