(Article for Small Market Meetings)

As business executives, we have disaster plans for our business, contingency plans for travel disruption, backup plans for the carpool schedule and even back up plans for snow days.  But do you have a contingency plan for yourself?  What happens when you get sick and have to go to the hospital for an extended stay or what if your loved one is diagnosed with a chronic illness?  Your world can turn upside down when you least expect it and unless you are prepared, it can affect your personal and professional success not to mention your health.

I have experienced such a journey when my husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and we owned and operated a small business out of our home.  If you are an entrepreneur, you may need to find flexible ways to conduct business, delegating more responsibilities, making your business appointments early or late in the day, hire temporary help, take your computer with you or consider other options to manage your career.  There is a new normal in your life now.  Many times, I would take my laptop and cell phone to the infusion room where my husband, Gene, would receive chemotherapy.  Sometimes we would be there from an hour to three hours and I would work from his room.

Just to give you a glimpse of where our time was spent within the first 106 days Gene was diagnosed:

  • 12% of our time was going to doctor appointments
  • 33% of our time was going to hospitals, emergency rooms, tests
  • 20% of our time was going to treatments…chemotherapy and radiation

Remember to use your meeting planning skills to get things organized to get you back on track even when you do not have control of the entire situation.  These tips will save you time and assist you when a crisis hits home:

  1. If away from the office in another city, rent a hotel room; laptop & IPhone
  2. Guard your time – only talk to your key person at the office; allow a trusted employee to take over
  3. Have a point person who can update your friends with the prognoses, etc. Set up a web site or have a dear friend who can send out emails when changes occur.  There are several websites that can assist you with this, such as: caringbridge.org; www.lotsahealinghands.com; www.thepatientpartnerproject.com.
  4. Focus on what is most important; give yourself permission to put the business on the back burner; forget being superwoman or superman. Take care of yourself because you have to be at the top of your game as an advocate and caregiver.
  5. Maintain positive attitude; pressures are challenging and you have to have support inside and outside of your business. We all have an inner strength
  6. Keep your mentors close; get support on all levels…practical, emotional, spiritual and otherwise.
  7. Use task management tools when necessary scheduling software to prioritize your work tasks
  8. Maintain strong relationship with your most important clients
  9. Pay regular bills on auto pay
  10. List 5-6 things you want to complete each week
  11. Make decisions in 12 hour increments. Decide what decisions are being affected the next 12 hours rather than the entire week.  By breaking it up in 12 hour increments, you make better decisions
  12. Cloud based document sharing can be extremely helpful

The preparation you do today can pay significant dividends in the event of a crisis and in the overall value of your business should no crisis occur.  Take the Boy Scout motto to heart: “Always Be Prepared.”