Business planning can be fun.
You can be creative and let your mind fly about possibilities for business creation and improvement. like creating great experiences for customers.
The planning process should also consider Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”
Sooner or later, disasters will happen, even at “The Happiest Place On Earth.”
On June 14, 2016, two-year old Lane Graves was dragged by an alligator into a lagoon near a Walt Disney World hotel and drowned. (The area had “No Swimming” signage.) Lane’s father drove the alligator away, so Lane’s body was left intact.
After Disney CEO Bob Iger’s expression of sympathy to Lane’s family, Disney’s management immediately closed Walt Disney World’s beaches and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission removed 50 additional alligators from the area during the two years following the incident. Disney also placed a memorial at the site of the incident.
The Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company introduced the Lincoln Blackwood 4-door luxury pickup truck for 2002. The base for the truck was Ford’s F-150 pickup. The exterior of the cargo bed was styled with imitation black African wengewood with aluminum-strake inlays, making it the first “woodie” Ford Motor Company vehicle since the LTD Country Squire and Colony Park station wagons, discontinued in 1991. The rear cargo bed was repurposed as a watertight trunk, with a permanently-mounted power-operated tonneau cover that opened over a 50/50 hinged door (!) instead of a tailgate. The cargo box was lined in carpet (!) and stainless steel, unsuitable for hauling anything except luggage. Lincoln planned to sell at least 18,000 Blackwoods over several years. Only 3,383 units were produced, making it the rarest and shortest-produced Lincoln model line. In short, it was one of the biggest model-introduction flops of the last thirty years, so Lincoln had to cut its losses by discontinuing manufacturing the vehicle.
The purpose of insurance is to recover losses in the event of loss of life, disability, fire, vehicle accidents, theft, embezzlement, errors and omissions, catastrophic health conditions, etc. It’s prudent to determine whether insurance is available and whether to insure for potential losses versus “self-insuring”.
What is your “plan B”, “plan C”, and “plan D”?
Would you like a sounding board for what might go wrong with your business plans and how to prepare for and respond to a potential disaster? To schedule an initial consultation, write to me at mgray@profitadvisors.com. (Note: I’m not an insurance agent.)