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.