Embrace the Inevitable: Strategizing for When Things Go Wrong Before They Do

In the realm of technology, the adage "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" is particularly true. The landscape is rife with instances of cybersecurity breaches, failed deployments, costly bugs, or accidental deployments that can halt services for customers or cost customers a significant amount of money. If you think of it, these are not mere possibilities but eventual realities that underscore the importance of proactive “strategery”.

The first step towards resilience in the face of these tech inevitabilities is acceptance. Accepting that at some juncture, things will go awry, allows for a mentality and culture of preparedness. It's not about fostering a culture of fear, but one of readiness and agility. Ideally in the effort to imagine the potential failures you will also be able to come up with ways to prevent them (or minimize their chances of occurring), but this article is focused on encouraging a focus on devising robust strategies to mitigate the impact and develop recovery plans swiftly when the undesirable occurs.

There’s /never/ a bad time to think do some strategic thinking. Whether you are dealing with critical pipelines, preparing for upcoming milestones or even when everything is (at least seemingly) sailing smoothly, pulling together a group of your team to engage in some foresight is never a waste of time. It's prudent to not get carried away by the smooth sail, but to anticipate the storms ahead. This doesn't mean dwelling on the negative but being smart about foreseeing potential challenges.?

Organizing brainstorming sessions with your adept team members can be a game-changer. Engage in war-gaming exercises, delving into hypothetical scenarios like, "what would happen if...," "how could we recover if...," "what would be the impact or loss of revenue if..." These discussions can be eye-opening and instrumental in identifying vulnerabilities and devising contingency plans.

Allocating time to create a disaster playbook on your intranet wiki could be a worthy investment. Even a 30-minute session to jot down recovery strategies and action plans can be invaluable. This playbook could serve as a reference point in times of crisis, ensuring that the team doesn't start from scratch but has a blueprint to navigate through the storm.

Moreover, these discussions could spark mini-projects aimed at bolstering your system's resilience, reducing potential downtime, or decreasing recovery costs. These proactive measures are not just about averting crises but about enhancing overall operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Your future self might be fortunate enough to evade these scenarios, but if calamity strikes, you'll be immensely grateful for the foresight. It's about creating a buffer, a contingency cushion that could mean the difference between a minor hiccup and a major catastrophe.?

In conclusion, the technology domain, with its inherent uncertainties, mandates a proactive approach towards disaster management. It's about building a culture that doesn't just react to crises [without a plan] but anticipates and prepares for them, ensuring a swift recovery and minimal damage. So, the next time everything seems to be going perfectly, take a moment to strategize for the imperfections that lie ahead. Your future self, your team, and your stakeholders will thank you.