NFIB

In Praise of Plan B
06/ 03/ 2003

by Rex Hammock

Hearing my plans for a recent household project, my wife asked, "What's your Plan B?" After 25 years of marriage, she should know better.

"Plan A will work," I growled. After 25 years of marriage, I should know better.

Despite my feeling otherwise, Plan Bs are good.

The guy on this issue's cover, author David Borgenicht, has created a thriving small business from his fascination with having a Plan B for any situation: the more absurd the situation, the better. He's the guy behind the books, television series and now multimedia brand, "Worst-Case Scenario."

"I was reading a magazine about a guy who actually landed a plane without the pilot's help and it hit me: There are real-world answers to absurd situations. What if there was a horrible-situation handbook?" The rest is history.

By nature, small business owners are not Plan B people. We have, as Harvard Professor Amar Bhide describes it, a high tolerance for ambiguity. We've come to grips with the fact that the world we live in is filled with paradox. Life happens.

Some people confuse this high threshold of uncertainty with having a high tolerance for risk. Yet small business owners are typically not big risk-takers. Rather our desire for control serves as a rational counter-weight to the uncertainty of risk. Of course, fear is an ever-present motivator. But then, so is a constant spirit of hope and optimism.

One thing is certain: During the life of every small business owner, there will be a worst-case scenario when a plane will have to be landed without the help of a pilot.

When that time comes, believe me, you'll be glad you have a Plan B.

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This article was originally published in the June/July 2003 issue of MyBusiness magazine.

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