How to Adapt When Your Plan Goes Wrong

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." — Mike Tyson

There is no such thing as a perfect plan. That includes action plans, program designs, hiring and staff management, procurements, and countless others. Inevitably, something will go wrong and you will need to make an adjustment. Successful organizations are not successful because they don’t make mistakes – rather, it’s how they respond to mistakes that makes the difference. In disaster recovery, you’re often facing a budget, time, and trust constraint that makes implementing a solid plan even more difficult. If you’ve found yourself needing to adjust your approach, here’s some advice to help get you started.

Collect Sufficient Data

Note that this does not read “collect as much data as possible.” Sometimes there is actually very little information needed to make a completely informed decision on how you need to adjust your plan moving forward. The danger of not taking a moment to collect any data at all about the problem is the concern here. Very often the correction to the problem is outsized compared to the problem itself. This can be difficult to balance, especially if a critical stakeholder is demanding a change in your process immediately. Take a bit of time to examine the cause of the issue, what went wrong, and what solutions are actually feasible to implement.

Consider The Impacted Parties

Of course, a problem with your plan is limited to who the problem actually impacts. In my experience, a problem for you is better than a problem for your constituents. If an error has created more work for you, you might have the luxury of time to fix it. But if the problem has jeopardized the public trust or limited engagement with your programs, it’s time to evaluate implementing a fix. Also consider what groups are more elastic to a problem. Your own team might grin and bear it through a little disruption, but the public, your stakeholders, and local elected officials are not so easily going to grant you the grace needed to fix an issue.

Start With a Tweak

Almost always, unless the approach is fatally flawed, a change at the margins is better than throwing out all the hard work that lead you to your roadblock. Consider what modest and manageable changes can be implemented while keeping your vision as intact as possible. Avoid overly reactive and sweeping change if you can help it.

After Action Evaluation

Once the dust has settled and you’ve corrected the course, take a hard look at what caused the issue in the first place. Was it lack of communication? Lack of focus? Or simply lack of knowledge and expertise? It can be any one of these or something else entirely. It can be hard to hold the microscope up to yourself and your team. If you need some outside help to diagnose the issue it might be worth getting some support. This isn’t a time for blame and finger pointing. This is an opportunity to get better and avoid mistakes in the future.

Building a CDBG-DR Team

Building your CDBG-DR team is about more than hiring for skill—it’s about cultivating a group that can navigate high-stakes, high-stress environments with empathy, integrity, and resilience. Disaster recovery work is inherently demanding, so start by building natural connections across other departments in your state. You’ll form connections with stars already working in the recovery/response space within government—smart, mission-driven individuals who understand how the system works and are ready for a bigger challenge. Seek them out and bring them in.

Don’t underestimate the power of early-career professionals either. Those junior team members—whether already in your agency or outside of it—bring energy, fresh ideas, and a willingness to dive in. Empower them with real responsibility and autonomy, back them up, and watch them rise to the occasion. Some of your most impactful leaders may come from these ranks.

Equally important: build around character. Prioritize team members who stay calm under pressure, who treat others with respect, and who are natural de-escalators. The emotional toll of disaster recovery can be intense; your team must support one another and face challenges cohesively.

As a leader, your role is to create the conditions for your team to thrive. That means more than just assigning tasks—it means designing an organizational structure that mirrors the core functions of CDBG-DR: compliance, housing, infrastructure, finance, outreach, and more. It means ensuring staff have the tools, training, and clarity they need to do their jobs well.

Ultimately, your job is to remove barriers, nurture trust, and give your people space to lead. If your team feels supported and aligned, they’ll move mountains for the communities you serve. Disaster recovery is hard, but with the right team—and the right leadership—it’s also some of the most meaningful work you’ll ever do.

You’re Receiving a CDBG-DR Grant. Now What?

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first hour sharpening the axe." — Abraham Lincoln

Whether you are receiving your first ever Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant, or are a seasoned expert with many grants under your belt - or ongoing as your new grant arrives - there are always some surprises that come with your grant allocation. Whether the amount of the grant, the new waivers and rules that come along with those funds, or even receiving a grant at all is a surprise to you, you’re in good company.

If you’re not sure what to do first, here are a few quick things to consider as you dive headfirst into your long-term recovery effort.

1. Establish a healthy relationship with your U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office.

   As your CDBG-DR funds are awarded to you by HUD, one of the first things you must do is ensure your relationship with your HUD office and HUD representative(s) is strong. HUD staff aren’t so different from your own staff. They often have competing priorities, busy schedules, and many projects to manage at once. It’s best to approach them ready to explain both your challenges and your goals in simple terms. Occasionally, you’ll need to establish a new relationship with a new HUD representative, especially if this is your first grant. If that’s the case do not forget that they may have limited familiarity with your community and the impacts of the disaster. Bring them along with you each step of the way and make sure they’re feeling included in your big decisions. Keeping them in the loop can save a lot of time, effort, and energy. These folks will be charged with reviewing your action plans, implementation plans, grant certifications, and will eventually be in the position of monitoring you! A healthy relationship with them will pay dividends.

2. Get your data (and data sharing agreements) ready.

   Data is the lifeblood of your recovery. Without good data your eventual unmet recovery needs can be incomplete or miss critical recovery needs. Unfortunately, collecting data can be a lengthy process, especially when establishing new data sharing agreements with federal agencies such as FEMA. Get a head start on this effort early. HUD’s Computer Matching Agreement can be a huge leg up on this. But it’s not just the federal data that matters - work with your emergency management sections, local stakeholders, and impacted citizens to round out your data needs.

   Remember that HUD will expect you to focus your activities on things that make sense in the context of your unmet recovery needs assessment. And so data that aligns with eligible programs - Housing, Infrastructure, and Economic Revitalization - are critical to include in your future analysis. To that end you’ll also want to focus your data collection on those areas to simplify both your data collection. As an example, it may not be wise to include significant information on damage to your agricultural sector if that need will be met by some other, non-DR, source.

3. Consider your capacity.

   Your head might already be spinning with the amount of work you have to do. If you’re not a master delegator yet, it’s time to work on getting comfortable with that. Your team might be small and growing. Or going through changes, such as rolling off one grant and on to another. Each disaster is different, each organization is different, and your needs will be different depending on the kinds of programs you decide to implement and how you decide to operate them. There are probably as many ways to staff your team as there are ways to manage your recovery. But one thing is for certain - the way in which you get your team together will make or break your recovery, regardless of how else you decide to manage your funds.

   Succesful teams do not need to be large, and large teams certainly don’t guarantee success. My advice on how to begin is to consider the limits of your flexibility when making decisions on hiring and staffing, and then consider your other tools. Procuring contractors to assist you can be faster than waiting on permission to make critical hires. But that speed can come with cost. And just like with a hire, procuring a contractor that’s not a great fit can be just as troubling. You’ll be in a hurry to get your team up and running, but a little bit of thought about what will work best for your particular scenario is worth the time. And above all else, make sure you get buy-in on your staffing approach. Which brings me to…

4. Build your coalition.

   It is going to be hard to succeed without a coalition of support behind you at all levels. It might even be impossible to succeed. So who do you need in your corner? As a starting point, you must consider impacted and recovering citizens, local elected officials, statewide elected officials, local stakeholder groups, active non-profit organizations and recovery organizations (big and small), volunteers, the media, and your governor or mayor. Often overlooked is the need to gain the support of your chain of command. That means your boss, and their boss of course. But it also means the folks that report to you day in and day out. You need broad support and belief from the bottom to the top of your organization. This can be hard to develop and can take time, but a unified team will be able to fight through just about any other obstacle. Foster this at all costs!

   Along the way, take inventory of your allies and your critics. You will have plenty of both, and it can often feel safest to only spend time with your allies. But my challenge to you is to get even more comfortable with your critics. If you can begin to convince them that you’re going to be able to get this difficult work done you will be in a better position than just surrounding yourself with the comfort of your allies.

5. Be visible.

   Nothing is more frustrating to a recovering community than the individuals who are charged with its recovering being invisible. This is not just lacking a physical presence in the recovering community, but extends to media engagement, advertising, and public outreach through non-traditional means. Have and maintain an active social media presence. Hold periodic meetings with your recovering citizens and let them know they’re seen and heard. This can be daunting, but you can and will build trust quickly with some honest, sincere time spent with the people you’re trying to serve.

There are countless things that need to happen when you’re poised to receive your allocation. All of this can be done with or without any funding in hand. Take time while you’re anticipating your grant to iron out these details and you will be well on your way to success. Good luck!