I was talking with a Senior Executive the other day about his 67 year old colleague who had a health crisis 3 months ago. The good man has not returned to work and they don’t know when he will. Further, they don’t know what is wrong so they are all in limbo. This month they have created a plan that goes beyond temporarily filling in to a plan that will work if he comes back or not. What would you do? How long would you wait? Could you wait?
Or, more to the point, is this you? Don’t think this is not your issue if you are under 40. When something goes wrong when you are young-ish, it goes really wrong. This subject cries out for planning. Lots of it!
Start with the following:
Do you have:
– Key Man insurance (ladies too!)
– Buy-sale agreements if you have co-owners?
– Succession planning for all “A” positions in the company?
– Cross-training for key positions?
– Job descriptions?
– Written manuals (not just tribal knowledge)?
You must have your own list of “terribles” that could really hurt your company if they were to occur. This week, address the most critical one. If you don’t know who can help you, start with your insurance agent, your attorney and your Human Resources folks. If you are in Vistage, talk with your Chair and the group. Someone may have ideas as to how you plan for that “terrible”.
Picture courtesy of Cracked.com