While some were gathering with friends, eating hot wings and screaming at the TV as they watched the Ravens, no the 49ers, no the Ravens score touchdown after touchdown, I was watching and learning key lessons that will help me and those I serve grow our businesses.
Albeit funny to watch my twitter stream light up with jokes to call Oliva Pope (from ABC’s Scandal) to fix the unexpected power outage after Beyonce rocked the stage, it was also an opportunity to see just how prepared for the unexpected the powers that be were.
In business, even with the best laid plans, there are times when things don’t happen the way you saw them. Period. How, as a business owner, do you handle those moments?
Do you capitalize like Oreo did with their ad, “You can still dunk in the dark?” Or do you watch and wait to see what happens? Oreo was ready to seize an opportunity and express their creativy to use the blackout in their favor. How creative is your team in the face of unexpected setbacks? Are you prepared to capitalize on them?
As entrepreneurs, we have to be agile. You know, able to “roll with the punches” and adapt quickly to change, in a manner that illustrates both receptivity and flexibility in any and all situations.
Which brings me to one thing all entrepreneurs can learn from what we observed during last night’s game:
Have a plan but ensure that your plan has room for contingencies. If something unexpected happens, what is your contingency plan? Do you have a backup way to communicate? Do you have access to team members in different places to prevent a complete lockdown? As you consider your plan, make sure that you spend time sifting through all possible scenarios and determine how you will handle them. When I still worked in Corporate America and we were preparing for Y2K, we spent weeks creating our EPPs – Emergency Preparedness Plans. We had meeting with experts and the key decision makers from every department across the company and we’d spend hours on end thinking through every possible way things could play out. How often do you offer this level of detail to your product and service launches and campaigns? What would change if you did? Do you even have people in place that can help you think things through or is it limited to your realm of possibility?
As an entrepreneur, you already have a level of creativity at work. Be sure to expand it so that you are prepared for whatever may come your way and are able to bounce back from it quickly.
What did you learn from the superbowl last night? Share your thoughts below.
©2013 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Speaker, Business Coach and Marketing Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com, Incredible Factor University®, the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step-by-step program for more clients, more income and more leverage in your business. For more information and a FREE audio CD “7 Critical Mistakes Entrepreneurs Must Avoid When Unleashing Your Incredible Factor So You Attract More Clients, Make More Money and Gain More Leverage” visit www.incredibleoneenterprises.com
