Contingency Plan - Got Yours?!?

I've spent the past several days working with an organization that is experiencing a crisis. A tragedy happened to one of the key players, and the impact was felt throughout the organization. Even with a de facto contingency plan in place, the fallout was still messy. A crisis is (by definition) always messy.

It could have been worse.

The most important questions a leader should ask is not if a crisis will happen but when the crisis will occur. Many organizations have little or no contingency plans in place. The leaders of these organizations seem to be willing to gamble on the slim hope that a crisis will never happen under their watch.

That's quite a gamble.

Contingency planning requires thinking the unthinkable. Solid organizations - with strong leaders - always have contingency plans. FedEx has them. Microsoft has them.

Do you?

Wise leaders ask - using the collective wisdom of people throughout the organization - these tough questions:

When X happens, what will we do?

How will we respond when Y occurs?

If you don't get clear answers across the board, you are in critical need of a contingency plan.



BOTTOM LINE: Strong leaders have strong contingency plans in place for when the inevitable crisis occurs.

tags:
contingency plan
crisis
crisis leadership