Prevent or cure?

It is indisputable that, from birth, people possess a conscious or unconscious uncertainty of the threats that surround us. The threat of losing some or all of our belongings, our quality of life, our social status, or even that most precious asset, life itself (whether our own or that of our kin), keeps us on constant alert.

It is easy to understand that “where lies the body, lies the danger.”

The instinct for preservation is our genetic inheritance, and we humans carry a deep and unconscious need to seek protection, to anticipate any risk, familiar or otherwise, expected or not, which we might encounter in our environment.

The development of civilization, from its origins, has incorporated regulations and laws, rules and proceedings, guided by this instinct for preservation. This instinct has incorporated new perceptions, analyzed new risks, and refined proceedings and techniques based on negative life experiences which, in many cases, had tragic consequences. Therefore, action-reaction, the basic equation, to which knowledge and evolution have added prevention.

Human evolution has allowed for the development of preventive guidelines and techniques which allow us to anticipate possible dangers or risks inherent in human activity; we are not always too late. In sum: prevention starts to form part of the safety measures.

But this social behavior, which we apply in our daily lives to protect ourselves, our families, and our property, etc.: How does this apply to the world of business?

It is obvious that the world of business is no stranger to these risks. It's true that when an entrepreneur begins the adventure of starting a business, they know that “it won’t be easy” and that they will face, not only the known and expected problems, but myriad unknown and unexpected problems, UNFORESEEN problems which will doubtless affect the idyllic path they may have imagined upon starting their project.

It is also obvious that, even upon attaining business success (economic stability, profits, image, positioning, recognition, etc.), the business owner and their company—and therefore their way of life—will not be free of risks; these risks may not only be new but perhaps greater, with greater consequences. That is, the business owner and their company should identify, prepare for, and defend themselves from these “risks.” They should, therefore, PREVENT.

It is true that the evolution of society, both at an individual level and a company level, carries with it a substantial change in our need for protection, from the most reactive and simple to the most preventive and elaborate. Who would risk losing the market position it cost them so much to attain, for a simple mistake in evaluation, for a simple lack of prevention?

Consequently, a significant part of the business owner’s strategy should be based not only on a vision of growth, new products, more business, expanded territory, alliances, and investments. Strategy also covers protecting what one has achieved by using a risk management methodology, applying the following basic guidelines:

• Identification
• Classification
• Risk measurement – impact
• Taking action (Contingency Plan) to reduce/shift/eliminate risks

The result: the creation of a Contingency Prevention Plan (which is, by definition, the identification, enumeration, and classification of the risks that threaten company continuity) and the creation of a series of guidelines, measures, investments, and actions to “act preventively” in any of the identified cases, seeking as a goal to eliminate, shift, or minimize any possible danger, risk, or harm to the company, the owners, personnel, or assets.

The development, updating, and practical implementation of the Contingency Prevention Plan is the guarantee of the continuity of the organization in complex situations.

Some business owners think that developing this type of systematic plan and analysis is unnecessary or consumes undeserved resources, as the strategic vision of the risk is limited to an immediate scope.  This vision is far from the “actual savings” of not having prepared your prevention; there is a great risk that when you need to have all the mechanisms in place to face a complex event, it will be too late to act and the consequences are unforeseeable, something that in the consulting world we see all too often.

There is nothing more dangerous than ignoring the obvious. This form of seeing reality means a certain, temporary, short-term success and certain failure in the mid- and long-term. We are all obliged to correct this error for the good of our companies, our investments, our clients, and our employees.

Converting a threat into an opportunity is what sets us apart from the rest.

Between prevention and a cure, which do you choose as a business owner?

At CEDEC, we choose prevention as a method and the Contingency Prevention Plan as a means. As an organization with the vocation to help our clients, we understand how to develop and execute these plans, and we know that everyone has contingencies, right?

Count on us to help you establish the methodology at your company that avoids or minimizes future contingencies.  Prevention is the solution.