When I was studying for my CA (now CPA) exams, there was always a case question where a company didn't have a back up plan. The case facts would simply state "XYZ Corp. doesn't back up their data" or "Mr. Smith said he doesn't need a disaster recovery plan because a disaster has never happened before." My study-buddies and I loved these types of cases because the answer was always "Get a backup plan." That's it, that's all. Full marks for everyone.
It's so trivial to have a backup. I remember thinking those cases were such nonsense; why was I paying money to write exams that taught me to recommend having a backup? Isn't that common sense?
Yes, having a backup plan is common sense, but having now had some experience both in the CPA profession and running YourSuit, I can honestly say that having a backup plan - and implementing one - is not as easy as it sounds, and it often gets lost on the to-do list. There are enough challenges out there in running a business day-to-day, let alone going the extra distance to prepare for a disaster.
For YourSuit, delivery is key. If a client needs a suit ASAP, coordination between us and our suppliers and shippers needs to be orchestrated quickly and accurately. Sounds cliché, but it's exactly like a bike chain; should one chain break or fail, the pedaling stops. It doesn't matter how good our other chains are; the fact that one of them failed has stopped the entire process, and if it takes too long to fix, the process ultimately comes to a halt and the deadline is missed.
It's easy to "hope" that the chains won't break, but let's face it: shit happens. I've learned early on (thanks CPA exams) that preventing a disaster (or at least preparing for one) is much better than detecting disaster. If you've detected a disaster, it's already happened; the climb is all uphill from there.
I've learned to be more proactive in building backups. Got a good shipper? Great, find another two that are equally as good or better. Found a great supplier? Excellent, keep looking for more. More backups lead to more insurance, which means that recovery should be significantly easier should a break in the chain occur. And at the end, the delivery will be made.
Off to see about a few more backups...
Yes, having a backup plan is common sense, but having now had some experience both in the CPA profession and running YourSuit, I can honestly say that having a backup plan - and implementing one - is not as easy as it sounds, and it often gets lost on the to-do list. There are enough challenges out there in running a business day-to-day, let alone going the extra distance to prepare for a disaster.
For YourSuit, delivery is key. If a client needs a suit ASAP, coordination between us and our suppliers and shippers needs to be orchestrated quickly and accurately. Sounds cliché, but it's exactly like a bike chain; should one chain break or fail, the pedaling stops. It doesn't matter how good our other chains are; the fact that one of them failed has stopped the entire process, and if it takes too long to fix, the process ultimately comes to a halt and the deadline is missed.
It's easy to "hope" that the chains won't break, but let's face it: shit happens. I've learned early on (thanks CPA exams) that preventing a disaster (or at least preparing for one) is much better than detecting disaster. If you've detected a disaster, it's already happened; the climb is all uphill from there.
I've learned to be more proactive in building backups. Got a good shipper? Great, find another two that are equally as good or better. Found a great supplier? Excellent, keep looking for more. More backups lead to more insurance, which means that recovery should be significantly easier should a break in the chain occur. And at the end, the delivery will be made.
Off to see about a few more backups...
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