Business Strategy - Creating Plan B

Maybe I'm too much of an event planning strategist at heart, but I ALWAYS want a Plan B. Even if things almost always go as planned, creating an alternative strategic plan protects you beyond when your business strategy doesn't work correctly. The strategic issues you think through when creating Plan B often lead to innovations which make Plan A so much stronger.

This strategy was top of mind last week after seeing Doug Merrill, former CIO of Google speak at the Thinking Bigger Speaker Series sponsored by Kelly Scanlon's KC Small Business.

During his basic and brief presentation, Merrill talked about the micro and macro advantages of storing your data in the cloud and the downside of traditional methods of storing and printing data. He underscored the strategic advantage of using Google applications to provide universal accessibility and searchability for your data.

Great idea, and when Google has a stock price well over $500, it's SO benevolent, and it does funny April Fool's Day stuff (such as calling itself "Topeka" in appreciation of Topeka, KS renaming itself Google), the strategy of storing everything with Google is a viable, innovative Plan A.

Suppose though some future cataclysm befalls Google. Wouldn't it be a smart innovative strategy to have a Plan B to protect yourself?

And think about this: Is the Google Plan B business strategy to position itself as "Too Critical to Fail" as self-protection against who knows what bizarre future financial meltdown or data terrorism strike that may happen?

I'm not saying; I'm just wondering and thinking about my own Plan B's. - Mike Brown