I don’t like flying, but I do because I enjoy experiencing new locations, plus all of my family lives in Georgia and the majority of my current client organizations are not based in Washington, DC where I’m located.
It’s already unsettling being propelled through the air at 36,000 feet in a cylindrical tube, but one of the scariest aspects of flying for me is knowing that a twin-engine aircraft can fly with just one engine, at best, At worst, that aircraft can lose power in both engines and still travel for another 70 miles before reaching the ground.
Something like this should be scary, but what keeps me somewhat calm is knowing that pilots are highly trained and can handle most mechanical and weather situations (turbulence, ugh).
Can you imagine if pilots had to figure out how to land a plane without practicing? In addition to hours of training and the lessons learned in past aviation incidents, pilots learn how to communicate the relevant information to Air Traffic Control and flight crew.
So how does this apply to implementing your programs and services?
I once had a supervisor that would tell staff, “Your Plan B should be stronger than your Plan A”.
If your Plan A is strong enough, there would be no need for a Plan B, I thought.
As I move through the COVID-19 pandemic along with my clients, I see that my former supervisor and I were both right.
We’re living in uncertain times, and this was before the coronavirus pandemic. We’re used to routine and structure (Plan A). Even if everything is going well, there’s always something you can do to strengthen your programs and services (Your Plan B).
Planes are designed that in the event one or both engines fail, you can still glide and land safely. So, how can you build your Plan B?
Plan B is built on fluidity, and your programs and services should be fluid as situations are ever-changing. Most situations you can plan for.
Plan B is also built on resiliency. One reason I pushed back on my former supervisor’s Plan B statement was that I associated Plan B with the worst-case scenario, as though you’re expecting failure. On the contrary, resiliency is the ability to recover quickly.
When creating a Plan B for your program or service, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Break down your program or service based on three areas: Planning, implementation, and learning. Planning involves designing or redesigning the curriculum or various components, including outreach/recruitment. Implementation involves how the program is implemented and how your participants engage with the program, from recruitment to completion. Learning involves how you solicit participant and staff feedback for program improvement.
- Look at each aspect of the three areas (from the staff’s point of view to the participant’s point of view). Using a sheet of paper or whiteboard, write of these aspects on the left side, labeling this as Plan A. Label the right side as Plan B. For each aspect listed under Plan A, write under Plan B at least one solution for addressing what could happen if this aspect of the program fails. When you’re done, go over Plan B to assess if the solutions flow well together.
- Be sure to determine how Plan B impacts both your program participants and your staff. It may be helpful to do this process twice, once for participants, and once for staff. For example, if you have to transition your program from in-person to online, how does this impact program participants who may not have access to the internet? And if staff now have to implement a program online, are the equipped to do online facilitation? What training would they need?
Key Takeaway
We’re living in unprecedented but creative times. How can we build a Plan B built on fluidity and resiliency? Your Plan B should be so good that, when Plan A fails, Plan B can easily take its place. Make sure you take off and land successfully.
Raise Your Voice: Do your programs have a Plan B? Share below in the comments section.
