Few plans survive first contact with reality. That's why it's vital to be flexible
On the August 10th episode of the Lykken on Lending radio show I host, we ran into a snag. The guest we were going to feature on the show had a flight delay and wasn't able to make it in for the interview. At the drop of a hat, we had to scramble to come up with something else to do. Finally, we decided to bring back the guest from the prior week, who graciously agreed to appear again. Suddenly, I had to throw out all of my notes and adopt a new path with little to no preparation.
This incident taught me a profound lesson, not just as the host of a radio show, but also as a leader in business. Especially in the mortgage industry, we'll inevitably encounter sudden and unexpected changes that cause us to rethink our strategies. What if a key employee doesn't show up for work? What if a key vendor goes out of business? What if your computer servers go down? These things will happen, and leaders need to know how to adapt.
Contingency planning is a key element in being a great leader. If you don't have a Plan B in any given situation, then you really don't have a plan at all. We've got to be able to improvise. We've got to be able to keep swimming when the flow of the water abruptly changes directions on us. If we want to lead our organizations confidently into the future, we've got to be flexible.
This incident taught me a profound lesson, not just as the host of a radio show, but also as a leader in business. Especially in the mortgage industry, we'll inevitably encounter sudden and unexpected changes that cause us to rethink our strategies. What if a key employee doesn't show up for work? What if a key vendor goes out of business? What if your computer servers go down? These things will happen, and leaders need to know how to adapt.
Contingency planning is a key element in being a great leader. If you don't have a Plan B in any given situation, then you really don't have a plan at all. We've got to be able to improvise. We've got to be able to keep swimming when the flow of the water abruptly changes directions on us. If we want to lead our organizations confidently into the future, we've got to be flexible.
