Chapter 78. Plan for the Worst, but Hope for the Best

As a manager, you should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. What’s your worst-case scenario? All the staff phone in sick because it’s the NCAA Tournament? You lose that big order? Sales slump to zero? Building burns down? National strikes? Flu epidemic? Terrorist attack? Oil spillage? Health and Safety close you down? All or any of these things can play havoc with your budget figures.

So what contingency plans do you have in place in case this worst-case scenario actually happens? Huh? Yep, thought so. You’ve got to have emergency plans, panic routes mapped out, procedures for crisis management, actions wrapped up and in the bag, replacement crews sorted, alternative sources of income determined. You have to have a plan.

Now chances are you won’t ever have to implement this plan. With luck and divine intervention, it will always remain a plan—nothing more. But a plan you have to have.

Now, you are allowed to hope. Hope it ain’t never gonna happen. Hope the sun will forever shine. I was once asked by a special committee what I would do in the event of a major bomb scare at the company where I worked. My answer, “Hope it’s a hoax,” made them laugh but earned me no brownie points at all. “What about a plan?” I was asked. “Oh, I’ve got one of those as well,” I said, and I may have recovered about half a point. Have a plan—and a lot of hope.