Once upon a time in a farmhouse not too far away, a mouse peered through a hole in the wall and watched as a farmer’s wife opened a small package.  The mouse went into a state of shock and awe when the package contents turned out to be a mousetrap!

The mouse immediately ran into the barnyard to warn the other animals, “Hey guys, there’s a mousetrap in the farmhouse!”

The hen clucked “It’s not my problem!  I’m not a mouse.”

The pig responded.  “Sorry to hear the news, but all I can do is recommend that you don’t get caught in it.”

“It’s really no big deal, just ignore the thing.” said the cow.

The mouse returned to his little hole in the wall to wait for the farmer and his wife to go to sleep so that he could begin his daily quest for a bit of leftover cheese in the darkness.  The sudden snapping sound of the mousetrap disfiguring its prey caught everyone by surprise.

The first on the scene was the farmer’s wife. She was half asleep and failed to notice the venomous snake on the floor until it bit her. The snake apparently entered the house looking for a rodent dinner when it got caught in the trap.  The farmer rushed his wife to the hospital for treatment and then brought her back to the farm where the side-effects from the drugs and venom antidote created a high fever and excruciating pain.

On the premise that chicken soup would reduce the fever, the farmer sacrificed his chicken for the soup.  But the wife’s condition did not improve. Friends provided help around the clock so that the farmer could tend to his crops and animals.  In order to feed them the farmer butchered the pig.  Alas, the wife did not survive the week and hundreds more came to her funeral forcing the farmer to slaughter the cow to provide enough meat for the hungry and respectful crowd.

The mouse watched the events unfold with great sadness from his little hole in the wall. All his barnyard friends (the ones who ignored his warning) were now gone.

We all know stories like that:  we see a problem and try to warn our co-workers but they just don’t see the big picture until it’s too late.

When one area of your company is in trouble, chances are good that the entire company’s performance will feel the impact.  For example, if there are issues with production, sales will be impacted when Customers don’t receive their orders on time. Similarly, sales may be slow and it is only a question of when production will be reduced to reflect the decrease in demand.

Phone lines and websites that can’t keep up with demand can shut down an operation overnight and permanently damage the brand and your reputation even if sales are high and production is on schedule.  A natural disaster such as snowstorm, hail, hurricane or flood will derail the most efficient of businesses unless contingency plans are in place for remote operation.

It really does not matter if you are a one-person operation or a team player in a major corporation, you should always be prepared and ask yourself:  What could go wrong?

At BoxOnline, we call this process Protecting the Plan.

Protect Your Plan - Put our PPA Process to work today

A planned response to situations that have the potential for wiping out profit and ruining your business is what gives you that extra edge should disaster strike.

Setting up a contingency plan or taking preventative measures to minimize the most likely causes of potential problems are two processes that you can initiate immediately. We have well over a decade of Client experience Protecting The Plan and look forward to helping you and your team feel more at ease, knowing that you are prepared for the worst.

Remember the lesson many of us learned in school, the time to study for a test is before you take it.

Be prepared, or be prepared to fail.