Rules Of Management

RULE 74 - Plan for the worst, but hope for the best

“If you decide to go out to these wild places and put yourself in these conditions, be responsible for yourself and those in your party. There are many requirements; good judgment, common sense, experience, and leadership are just a few. Unexpected things can and do happen… Be prepared. Expect the unexpected. Always carry a bivvy sack on every climb. Be prepared to spend the night up there! Plan for the worst, but hope for the best!”

Tim Driskell, climber


I don’t expect you to carry a bivvy sack at all times but I do expect you to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. What’s your worst-case scenario? All the staff phone in sick because it’s World Cup Final? 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 so 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 crew sorted, alternative sources of income laid down. 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 – noting more. But 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 these as well’, I said and I may have recovered about half a point. Have a plan – and a lot of hope.

“HAVE A PLAN – AND A LOT OF HOPE.”

posted by Right Ranger @ 9:08 PM