If nothing else, try to get buy-in from the key players in the crisis, assuming you have the time to do so. And as you implement your response, do what you can to keep everyone in the loop – including your clients or end users, as necessary. You may find the latter particularly important if you’ re a solopreneur, and you face a crisis that stops you in your tracks … a nasty case of the flu, perhaps. In most cases, clients will respond positively to a request for a little extra time; and if they don’ t, have a contingency plan in place whereby you can hand over their work to a contractor during the interim.
Post-Mortem Dissection
After the crisis has passed and all the repercussions have died down, take a little time to dissect what happened, so you know how to respond if it ever happens again. This amounts to more than just“ Monday morning quarterbacking” because, to paraphrase philosopher George Santayana,“ Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
If possible, pull together the key people involved in the crisis, analyze what went wrong and figure out how to keep it from happening again. If you lack the authority to call everyone together, conduct the postmortem on your own. This process may require additional resources or reallocation of existing resources to pull it off, and yes, it may take some time you’ d rather spend on something else. But in the long run, every second and cent will be worth the cost if you can keep similar disruptions from shooting holes in your future productivity.
Cautious Optimism
It’ s human nature to be hopeful, and thank goodness. That gives us the drive we need to succeed through thick and thin. But truly successful people refuse to let their guards down, no matter how positive their attitudes. They understand the need for both advance preparation and superb flexibility. So have contingency plans in place for everything you can think of, and roll with the punches as they occur – even when they come from unforeseen directions and take unanticipated forms. Most disruptions soon yield to the application of a healthy dose of discipline and creative thinking, and once the crisis passes, you can analyze what happened and put plans into place to head off similar occurrences.
When faced with the unexpected, don’ t just throw up your hands in despair. Step forward, take charge and, no matter how hard a crisis hits you, learn something from the situation. Better yet, find a way to profit from that knowledge. When life hands you lemons in the workplace, don’ t just make lemonade – find a way to sell that lemonade for a tidy profit! G
Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE, aka The Productivity Pro ®, gives speeches and seminars on sales and leadership productivity. For over 25 years, she’ s worked with Fortune 1000 clients to reduce inefficiencies, execute more quickly, improve output and increase profitability. Laura is the author of seven books, including“ Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time.” To invite Laura to speak at your next event, visit www. TheProductivityPro. com.
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GearedUp | 2017 Issue 4
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