Send to KindleBe Prepared. It’s the Boy Scout motto and it’s pretty good advice. As I write this another winter storm is threatening the eastern U.S. It promises to bring very cold temperatures (by U.S. standards anyway) and a big load of snow. Some will be prepared and handle whatever the storm brings. Other will not be prepared and will suffer.
Of course there will always be situations you weren’t prepared for. That’s Murphy’s Law. But, if you take a little time to consider the possible problems you may face, you’ll be much better able to handle the ones you didn’t consider.
Play the “What if…” game. Consider a potential threat to the company, like a severe storm, and then start asking “What if…” What if the power goes off? What if it stays off for a long time? What if no one can get in to work? What if no one can leave work? When thinking through these “What ifs” don’t make assumptions. Deal with the worst possible case. As you and your team go through these questions, most likely new potential problems will emerge, but new potential solutions will also become apparent.
When I was in the Air Rescue Service, we trained everyday for many different types of rescue scenarios. We would make up all kinds of possibilities and then execute training missions around them. But, when the real call would come, there was always something that was different. We were always able to handle the new challenge because we had a solid understanding of our basic procedures and had spent a lot of time thinking about and training for “What if…”
Your emergency planning should be very similar. You’ll never think of everything that can happen, but the more you consider “What if…,” the less likely you will be to be surprised and the more likely you’ll be able to handle those things you didn’t plan for.
