Are You Ready for Your “Missed Approach”?

Landings can be one of the most challenging parts of flight. This is especially true when the weather gets bad, i.e., low clouds, reduced visibility, rain, thunderstorms, snow or turbulence.

The missed approach is a standard procedure used when a landing cannot safely be made. When this happens, the same steps are performed in sequence, every time: apply full power, climb to a specific altitude, navigate to a designated “fix” and then enter a holding pattern before initiating “Plan B.”

When things go wrong during this critical phase of flight, it’s reassuring to know there is a procedure in place to make sure the flight ends safely. In other words, there is a plan for the unplanned.

Do You Plan for the Unplanned?

There are certain things in your business that are unplanned, but they can be anticipated. Things like employee turnover, customers leaving, disgruntled employees, customer complaints, equipment that breaks and technology that doesn’t work. You could probably list dozens more. The good news is that most of these can be anticipated and addressed if standard processes are set up in advance. These are your version of “missed approaches.” The key is to know what to do when it happens and be prepared and ready to execute when the time comes.

Prepare for Missed Approaches

Strengthening the Process Component™ in your company means systemizing your way of doing business to create more consistency, efficiency, and scalability. The 3-Step Process Documenter™ tool is designed to help you identify and document the Core Processes that drive your business – HR, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Customer Service, etc. These Core Processes not only help you drive more consistent results, but will help you recover more quickly when you encounter surprises.

For example, when good employees decide to leave, it can be a big blow. But it doesn’t have to be if you’ve anticipated this as a possibility. If you have a clear Accountability Chart and a solid HR Process that keeps your pipeline filled with qualified candidates, and helps you find the right person to fill your open seat, you’ll bounce back more quickly. Similarly, if you lose a customer, a strong Marketing Process will assure that you have plenty of qualified leads in the pipeline to convert into customers with your Sales Process.

Remember, a missed approach is only really “missed” when you’re not prepared for it. Anticipation and preparation go a long way!

Next Steps

• Unlock the EOS Toolbox™ to download a copy of The 3-Step Process Documenter tool.
• Read more about strengthening the Process Component in Chapter 7 of Traction^®.

 This post originally appeared on the BlueCore Leadership Blog on November 22, 2017.