Management surprises can be the most stressful of all. A key employee suddenly quits. A government agent walks in to do an inspection. Some crazy guy screams at your receptionist and won't leave.

Odds are good you will get hit with several surprises in your life. As a result, your forward progress can be stopped. Your production can be blocked. Your success can be ruined.

Recommendation

Make a list of all the catastrophes you expect may happen to you. Include everything that makes you worry. Small things, big things, anything you can think of.

Next to each item on your list, write up a plan to handle it. Some potential catastrophes require a single preparation stop. Others need a detailed, 20-step plan.

As you do this exercise, you may feel uncomfortable and nervous. Just keep working on it. As you plan out more solutions and get prepared, you will feel more relaxed and confident than ever before. You become ready for anything!

After you finish, you will probably think of more things to add to your list. So keep it handy.

In fact, each time you feel stressed or worried about a potential problem, add the potential surprise to your list. If it's already on the list, simply add more preparation steps until you are no longer worried.

Review the list every few months. When you review old solutions, you think of new preventive steps and better solutions.