After your team completes the PC-installs, they begin downloading the current sales data from the laptops into the PCs. This is when the trouble starts. Between the time you piloted the sales software and today, most of the salespeople downloaded the new version of a web browser, creating a host of new glitches. Your team is back at square one: How can we load the new software without disrupting the sales team’s work, which is the backbone of our business?

Even the best-laid plans run into roadblocks — that’s the nature of any project. It's a very rare project that follows its original path from beginning to end without a hitch or bump or turn. The solution is to be adaptable, to be able to suggest a valid contingency plan in a moment’s notice.

Why should you care?
At least two reasons: improved inhouse performance and better customer service. As more and more employees are measured on performance, rather than time served in the organization, the success of a project — including staying within timelines and budgets, working well in a team and achieving measurable goals — has a direct effect on your bonus or promotion. Demonstrating that you can solve problems and motivate others to do so (as opposed to simply following orders) bodes well for deserved recognition and is a wonderful learning opportunity.

For a business leader, building a contingency plan before things go awry helps avoid costly problems down the road, while reinforcing a shared responsibility for idea-generation and problem-solving. Going into crisis mode without forethought can be expensive, with costs resulting from missed deadlines, hiring additional staff or consultants to fix a problem, greater-than-expected time requirements affecting staff availability for other projects, and poor products and services — all of which result threaten client relationships, and even employee morale and retention.

As a team, being able to confidently and smoothly adjust to changes in course engenders confidence in your client and reduces the stress and extra physical and mental work associated with a plan in chaos. Participating in successful problem-solving can also be a team-builder and morale booster.

How do you create a contingency plan?

Envision best, probable and worst-case scenarios: As you develop your "Plan A", anticipate any issues that might arise. Draw on similar experiences and feedback you’ve received on other projects. With this list of potential "bumps along the way", create "Plans B - Z" that spell out how you’ll address each of the issues is they arise.

• Fortify your resources: Take an inventory of your team resources, so you know what tools you’ve got in your "emergency kit" before trouble hits. For example, what range of talents does your team feature? How can we shift team members’ schedules to accommodate work on several projects? Are there any extra funds budgeted? Is your workscope with your client clear regarding what's considered extraneous to the agreed upon budget or at what point the workscope and budget will be modified?

• Be creative: Think of at least one additional way to meet the desired goal so as not to be boxed in by one plan. If something doesn’t fit in with your plan, you’ll already have another path thrashed out before you're in the thicket of confusion. A great example of creative thinking as a solution to a problem came about in the early 1970s, when shared jobs became popular. Some companies couldn’t strike a balance between the need for full-time skilled employees and employees' desire to work part-time. The solution? Have two employees split one job — one works a half-day in the morning, the other in the afternoon.

• Make it clear: To avoid any confusion around the idea for and the tasks in the contingency plan, communicate your intention to your team members and your client. Your team members will be better equipped to carry out the contingency plan with clear information, and your client will appreciate your proactive thinking that has her best interests (and top-flight service) at heart.

• Ensure it’s realistic: Your contingency plan shouldn't take you out of the frying pan and into the fire. Any components that are not do-able right upfront should be dismissed from consideration. There's no room for complacency in your contingency planning.

• Stay flexible: There’s no way that you can anticipate every possible detour in your project. By staying flexible, you’ll be better able to see the options and opportunities, and be more willing to change course — instead of digging your heels in just to save a process. The sister component to staying flexible is always keeping your eyes on the goal. As you might say, "I don’t care how you get from A to Z, so long a you get from A to Z in an ethical, cost-effective manner."

Try it Out
Take this contingency planning model to your next staff or project meeting and apply it to one or two projects on your roster. What activity remains on the project? What could possibly go awry in best-to-worst case scenarios? How would your group address those issues if they were to arise? How could you be surpassing client expectations, beyond what you're already doing? Cite no fewer than two answers for each question. Don’t forget to capture the notes, so you can tap the ideas as needed.

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