The Mighty Modern Manager by Wyatt Paul A

Author:Wyatt, Paul A.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

Looking Ahead

Nobody expects you to be a psychic, but you can plan and prepare for at least some possibilities.

Not only will this mean that you will not waste time in the crisis event trying to figure out a way forward, but it will also take a lot of pressure off you. Worry and anxiety increase the more we think about mysterious unknowns. We can sleep easier at night knowing we have considered as many potential problems as we can, have made them known, and therefore tangible and manageable.

Start with a simple risk analysis.

Practical Exercise: What Could Go Wrong?

It may seem like we are looking for trouble, but in fact, this is your job. You need to consider what can go wrong so that you can plan for it. This doesn’t mean you are inviting trouble, just that you have considered it, and that frees you up to let go of unnamed worries and move on to other stuff.

1. Draw a square divided into quadrants. On the y-axis, near the bottom, write low possibility. At the top, write high possibility. On the x-axis, on the far left, write low risk, and on the far right, write high risk.

2. Now spend some time brainstorming all the things that could go wrong. You could even do this as a team, as long as you share the contingency plans too. This might help some of the more anxious team members manage their anxiety better, ironically.

3. As each idea comes up, decide in which quadrant it should go based on how likely (possible) you believe it is to happen, and if it does, how much risk to the company and team it would be. For example, if working conditions aren’t great, the risk of protests, strikes, absenteeism, and so on may be way more likely, and also pose a higher risk. Being abducted by aliens may be in the low possibility, high-risk quadrant, and the loss of a supplier you can easily replace in the low risk, low possibility section. You need to make these decisions based on what you know at the time about the potential risk.

4. First, attend to the potential problems in the high risk, high possibility area. It is a simple process of deciding if this happens, what could we do? What are our options? What steps would be required? What resources would be needed? What time frame might we have to reduce damage?

5. Next, move on to the other quadrants in order of priority. Next, high risk/low possibility; low risk/high possibility, and lastly, low risk/low possibility.

What you will end up with is a simple set of contingency plans for potential problems. If you are unsure if you have covered all the most important bases, consider what it is you do.

What elements are vital for the running of the business? Customers, cash flow, resources and suppliers, technical or other equipment, time, people who do the actual work, and processes all form part of the successful running of the company. Consider each element and what might go wrong with it.

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