Apple fans around the world have been wailing and gnashing their teeth in recent days at news the company’s CEO/guru, Steve Jobs, is on another period of medical leave.
This is not hard for me to understand. I know that every time I was to have sick day, Taskmaster Enterprises would all but close down. For that reasons I haven’t missed a day of work since 1964.
But even I admit this is not the greatest management strategy. A good leader – even one at a small company with relatively few staff – will have some kind of plan in place to get around a business interruption from illness, natural disasters or some other problem.
It doesn’t need to be a formal document – just a basic plan, sketched out the key staff members, of who would do what in the event of an emergency. Who would take on what role? What would the reporting lines in the business look like? If the emergency happens after hours, is there a way of working remotely? What data and key documents would everybody need to access to?
Illness, accidents and incidents will happen. A smart entrepreneur must be at least somewhat prepared.
Get it done – today!
