The Change Dude’s Blog

Hooray for Plan B

Today’s miraculous rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile is inspiring.  Even more inspiring the success is due to Plan B.  Congratulations to all those that worked tirelessly to bring those miners to the surface and best wishes to the miners as they emerge from deep in the earth’s rocks.

As I watched each miner ascend from the rocks I kept thinking about Plan B.  It seems to me that an awful lot of projects actually succeed with the second best idea on the table.  

Plan A, or the first best option, is typically based on everything working out absolutely perfectly.  The right budget, people, tools, timeline, weather are all ideally planned in synchronous balance to achieve the desired result.  In some quarters this plan is know as a fantasy.

Once everyone realizes that Plan A would be awesome then the contingency Plan B is developed.  Fraught with reality, all the potential constraints of execution Plan B becomes the route to take when Plan A inevitably crashes, as it routinely does.

Action management reflects the highest level of sophistication in the management sciences.  It is conscious control of a complex set of activities to achieve a desired result.  There are many moving parts and hundred of variables to consider when managing action to achieve the goal.  Critical path definition is crucial to discern where tweaks will most likely have to be made to the action plan.  Skillfully managing action may fall into the hands of anyone in an organization’s hierarchy. 

Critical to success of managing action is the can-do attitude that Chilean leadership and the miners themselves exhibited over the past 70 days.  Here are the lessons the incredible rescue have reminded us of:

1. Set a clear goal – rescue 33 men trapped 2400 feet under solid rock
2. Initiate action immediately – even the smallest step forward begins to mobilize resources
3. Define multiple alternate paths to success – Plan B saved the day
4. Lead for action – Chilean leadership reached across the globe for ideas, resources and support.  A coalition of passionate people worked collaboratively to beat every timeline they set.
5. Be flexible – There is never a single answer to any complex problem, prepare to flex and modify.
6. Build trust – The miners were never told untruths.  Leadership were clear and honest at every step of the rescue attempt.  No false hope, false promises or empty rhetoric was at play, just the harsh reality of the challenge.
7. Mobilize every stakeholder – Every citizen of Chile was invested and mobilized to support the rescue effort.  Information was abundant and readily accessible. 
8. Celebrate – As each of the miners stepped out of the capsule a celebration ensued.  Thirty-three individual celebrations were held because every life saved may have been the last.  Each rescue a small victory until the last man emerged.

I was moved by the rescue of these working miners I knew nothing more of than they were trapped by circumstance.  Success was a product of global collaboration, strong leadership, steely-eyed focus and thousands of hours of hard work.  This is an object case, a reminder, a lesson that anything is possible when the objective is clear, the goal is noble and spirit is willing.

October 14, 2010 Posted by thechangedude | Uncategorized | Leave a comment