The power of preparation.
In life, change is inevitable. Learning to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to change is something we should all strive to do.
For major events in our lives, we typically have back-up plans. For instance, for outdoor weddings, there is often an alternative location for inclement weather. However, we often neglect to make back-up plans in our day-to-day living.
What if I can’t run the meeting? What if the big contract gets delayed? What if my child can’t attend summer camp? What if my flight gets canceled? What if the new hire doesn’t show up?
1. Start by spending 30 minutes over the weekend looking at your upcoming week. Think through how you will handle the scenarios most likely to occur in the areas of finances, professional projects, family and friends, health, service and fun. Examples might include:
Expense check doesn’t arrive on time- ensure you can transfer or deposit funds to pay your credit card
The projector or computer doesn’t work for a presentation – ensure you have a printed outline, so you can write key points on a whiteboard as you speak
Child gets sick – ensure you have backup sources of childcare
Have to work late- ensure you can stick to your nutrition plan
Car has an issue- ensure you have what you need to work from home or can get a ride from a colleague
Excessive heat- move your beach clean-up to another time
Rain in the forecast- make bowling reservations in lieu of hiking plans
2. Next, it is important to plan for the bigger, truly unexpected circumstances, such as a career change, an illness or loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, a mid-life crisis, a breakup, a failure of some sort, etc.:
Reflect on past events in your life and the lives of people you know and note how you or they handled them. What went well and what didn’t? What adjustments would you make for what didn’t go so well? What tools from these experiences would you want to apply in the future?
Run through “what if” scenarios, balancing the negative and the positive. Think through both adverse and encouraging outcomes. What if I lose my job? What if I get a promotion?
Establish your tribe. These are the positive people who know what you value and have your best interest at heart. You can trust them to help you make decisions when you aren’t in your normal state of mind due to unforeseen circumstances.
Choose how you want to respond to the unexpected, so that your circumstances don’t become all-consuming and define you. Take the time now to learn how to establish the mindset that life happens “for you” and not “to you” and to look for the silver lining. Practice resiliency in your everyday response to things that come up and grow confident in your ability to handle life’s curveballs.
When something does happen, pause, acknowledge and accept whatever emotions come to you. Give yourself time to process what has happened. Then, when you are ready, take whatever steps you can to move forward- use your tools, revisit your scenarios, remember your desired response mindset and seek guidance and encouragement from your tribe whenever you need support.
3. Finally, business contingency planning is also essential:
It is a good idea to cross-train your employees, so operations won’t come to a complete stop when someone gets sick, goes out on leave or finds employment elsewhere.
If there are major things your business is counting on, make sure more than one path has been established to get there should things not go as envisioned. Work paths in parallel when possible.
Establish business continuity plans today for unforeseen events, such as fires, IT outages, market crashes, natural disasters and other crises. It is much easier to make these plans ahead of time and simply enact them when needed then starting from scratch when disaster strikes.
Don’t assume contingency plans exist or are being created by someone else. Be proactive in asking what is in place and what needs to be created.
Review and update contingency plans on a regular basis.
Whether in our personal or business lives, there is power in being prepared. When we assess risks, develop scenarios and plan desired outcomes, we have a framework by which to accept things that are beyond our control and move forward from them, improving how we live our lives. Keeping a positive mindset with the support of our tribe can help us find the inner strength to trust in our resilience and turn obstacles into opportunities one step at a time.