One of the most important decisions in most endeavors is when to commit your reserves. When do you put all the information on the table? When do you move your most important people onto a project? When do you release the funds required for success?
Plan – Pilot – Roll
While I'm sure he didn't invent it, McKinsey consultant, Todd Guild, used to preach a plan – pilot – roll approach to managing reserves:
Plan: Strategy is about creating and allocating resources. A critical part of your plan is identfying or creating your reserves and determining release criteria.
Pilot: Few are smart enough to figure it all out right the first time. Even if you are sure something is going to work the way you expect, it's almost always worthwhile to do a dry run or pilot.
Roll: Once you've got traction in a pilot, then you start to commit your reserves. But not all of them. Expect the unexpected and have things in reserve to deal with that.
The world is full of uncertainty. Managing risk is not about ignoring risk. It's about having resources in reserve to deal with different scenarios – both anticipated and unanticipated. Whether you're looking for a job, starting a job or new role, leading a change, or managing a crisis, make sure you create and manage your reserves appropriately.
