If you are in the IT world for very long, you soon learn that things can go awry at times. You need to “expect the unexpected” and plan on what you would do if and when it occurs.
What I mean is that you should anticipate things will happen, , , because they will. Think about the scenarios of what can go wrong and plan your move in case it does so you are ready when it happens.
I’m not saying that you should spend all hours of the day worrying and thinking about what might happen, , , but you do want to give it at least a little thought. You will be much more prepared to react and take care of the problem when it occurs.
Let me give you a couple examples:
- When I travel to teach an IT Manager Institute, I do two things to anticipate potential flight problems. First, I reserve a flight that gets me there on Saturday so I have an extra day (just in case) and it also allows me to rest and get adjusted to the local time. Many of my trips are 14 hour flights and more. Second, I take an earlier flight to Atlanta or wherever I must make my international connection. If the flight gets postponed or cancelled, I can always get the next flight and still get to the main airport to make my connection.
- I built time buffer into my IT Manager Institute class, , , just in case we have a power outage or other mishap. In my 10th Institute in Curacao, that’s exactly what happened, , , a tropical storm knocked out the Marriott Hotel’s power and their backup generator. We had no power for half the day, , , but because I anticipated the possibility of such a thing, it was no issue in getting through all the material.
When you manage projects, build budgets, install a system upgrade, etc., , , be sure to anticipate the things that might go wrong and put some buffer into your plan. When the unfortunate event does occur (and it will at some point), you will be glad you did.
Make it a habit to “expect the unexpected” and teach your employees to do the same. It will help you become a more responsive IT organization.
ITLever™ 