Three new plans for 2020

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By Kirk Averett

2020 threw most of us a curveball. For some lucky few, like hand sanitizer bottlers, this is amazing. For most of us, we have to reset our expectations.

Your initial plan for 2020 is garbage. Because the effects of the pandemic are unpredictable, creating three new 2020 plans will help your team and business respond appropriately as the year develops.

Plan 1: The Good Case

What will 2020 look like if most things return to normal in 30-60 days? What activities should be a priority? How long until the sales pipeline is 80%+ of normal? What staff will you need and when? What spending can stay low for a while?

How can you know before your competitors that it is relatively safe to operate on this plan?

Plan 2: The Expected Case

Of course, this assumes you expect something worse than the good case above, and no one really knows. But perhaps an "expected" plan assumes that in 90-120 days, commerce and travel will be safe. Same exercise as before: what are the priorities? What can your teams do now that will make a strong re-entry? How will your revenue and expenses shape up? What are some ways you can manage cash?

I heard stories about Rackspace in the late 90's when the Internet bubble burst. Rather than sitting on their hands and waiting, leadership recognized the opportunity to buy advertising on the cheap, and even data centers for a fraction of the previous year's cost. As the recession ended in the early 2000s, brand recognition was way up and the capacity to serve could capitalize on immediate growth. They leapfrogged competitors.

Plan 3: The Pessimistic Case

This exercise sucks. If it doesn't, then you are a robot. But doing the math and the tough thinking now is extremely valuable. Knowing what moves to make will add critical speed and confidence if things go south. For that matter, get clear on when you have to start using this plan. Know the markers for your business. Maybe it will be a cash level alert, or maybe the renewals in your subscription business fall below a critical threshold. You know your business, so you"ll have to figure it out for yourself.

Three Plans

Two valuable things emerge from building three plans. First, you have the tools necessary to set expectations for others. Communication is essential to trust, and you can't communicate if you haven't done proper thinking and preparation.

Second, you have a set of optional activities at your fingertips. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy, but the act of planning and generating options is invaluable. Know what you can do.

Good luck, my friends.