Extra Points: The What Ifs

This past weekend, I traveled to Victoria, BC to meet with fellow Rotarians in my Rotary district to interview high school students put forward by clubs for an exchange program. The students were there as the last part of an extensive interview process. As you might imagine, we asked a lot of future-facing, open-ended questions about the “what ifs” of the future. For example, what if you lose your luggage; lose your money; have relationship challenges with families; get homesick, or a myriad of other things. These students did a tremendous job in their responses; it was clear they prepared.

What about you? Are you prepared?

Your business and career will experience challenges next year, and beyond. We read and watch calamities befall businesses all the time and nobody is immune. The ones that best prevent and recover are the ones that prepared like these students did. That’s a solid preparation in responding to the “what ifs.”

What if you have a fire, a flood, or a cyber attack? What if you lose your best client or employee? What if your competitor moves in across the street or beats you to the market? What if you become disabled?

Many business owners think they’ve figured it out, but they haven’t. The what ifs need to be identified, analyzed for impact, controlled, and insured properly. They solutions need to be written down and then communicated to employees. The what ifs require more than just thinking, they require an investment of skill, time, and financing. In the end, the return of investment may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the bottom line of the business and/or you as an individual.

Your assignment is to identify your what ifs and assess how important they are to your business wealth, lifestyle, and peace of mind. Then take action to best answer them in a way that you can survive and thrive, just like these high school students on exchange will. It’s time to clear up those what ifs and to…

Be Unleashed!

Note: It seems that Constant Contact and YouTube are having some challenges. I’m not able to embed the video. You can click here to view on my channel.

~ Lily Tomlin

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