Don't Allow Failure To Kill Your Business

The fictional law firm on "The Practice" (a U.S. network television show from 1997 to 2004) was notorious for relying on "Plan B" - which involved creating doubt with the jury about their client's guilt by accusing a third party of the crime.

We could all benefit from developing a "Plan B" when we create strategy or make decisions that impact our business.

Having a "Plan B" is important because while you can make educated assumptions about the future, you cannot guarantee that the future will unfold just like you predicted.

Aereo, a service that distributes network television shows to subscribers via the Internet is currently facing a copyright lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court. Aereo's CEO recently admitted that his company has no "Plan B." They're betting the whole company on one strategy and a single legal decision. That seems foolish.

You won't always be able to stop and decide what to do after your initial strategy falls apart. (Incidentally, the belief about whether the future is predictable vs. controlable is one key difference between MBAs and entrepreneurs).

For example, if you assume a certain level of revenue from your business and your revenues are much smaller than you anticipated, you might not have the ability to adjust once you've run out of money. So don't just assess the most likely scenario - take the time when you initially plan to develop a best and worst case scenario too.

And importantly, don't just think about a "Plan B" - think also about how you will implement it. That way, you'll rarely be surprised when things don't turn out the way you planned - they rarely do - and you'll be always ready to react in a meaningful and thoughtful way.

Do you develop a "Plan B" when you make decisions? How do you prepare for the possibility that your plans/strategy may need to change?

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Ross Kimbarovsky is founder and CEO at Startup Foundry, a team of engineers and entrepreneurs building innovative and sustainable startups. Prior to Startup Foundry, Ross co-Founded crowdSPRING, the world's #1 marketplace for crowdsourced logo design, graphic design, industrial design and naming. You can connect with Ross on Twitter @rosskimbarovsky or on his personal blog, where he writes about startups, technology and social media.