You Never Know When It Will Happen

 

On Monday morning, I felt sick.  My computer went blank. Totally!  My desktop was gone!  There were no icons and what was worse, I had no back-up disk.  Nothing! Obviously there was a lesson in this experience.  No back-up disk meant no back-up plan.  Everything was lost!

I realized this is the way things can happen when the owner and key operator of any business suddenly dies.  Information, thoughts, advice, and plans are gone with him or her.  Their valuable resources and knowledge cannot be retrieved. In those few minutes when everything was “black” on my computer, I stared at the empty screen feeling lost.  So much on my computer had vanished; it was frightening to think I would never see it again.  What if this was a real person upon whom everyone was depending?

When I am in need of technology support I call my faithful techie. I refer to him as “Doctor”. I imagine you know who your professionals are in dire circumstances. If you suddenly died, your accountant, lawyer, and perhaps your lender would be called to put things back on track (sort of) because it will never be the same. Some things are gone forever with you.

Here’s advice worth putting into action. Do something.  Work with what you know today.  Put things in order.  Have a back-up plan.  Discuss your back-up plan. No one should be left in the dark without a plan. No one should have to guess your intentions for your business.

I was totally stressed at the moment, thinking “How stupid for not backing up my files?”  I was naïve to believe nothing could happen to my computer simply because nothing had happened until now.

In a faithful attempt, I restarted my computer.  Slowly my computer sprang to life.  Slowly my icons returned to their rightful place on my desktop. Although the files were retrieved, I knew my computer was not healthy. This is a forewarning.  “Fix it because you won’t get a second chance.  When it’s gone, it will be gone forever.”  My computer shook its finger at me for being “stupid” and “naïve”.

 

Awaiting my doctor’s arrival and diagnosis of my computer’s problem, I saved my files to a new location to prevent this stressful situation from ever reoccurring. I don’t cope well in distressing situations especially knowing they could have been avoided.   

What about you?  Have you taken any steps to ensure others know your plans?  Are you convinced everyone in your business knows your back-up plan (or) do you even have one?

For me, “stupidity” and “naivety” are no excuses for not taking precautions to avoid losing all the work and data. Where would I start to rebuild all this information? While mourning lost information is no comparison to mourning the loss of a loved one and their wishes and intentions, both situations require action.