And while some situations will be more predictable than others, there can always be certainty around how you will respond. Learn how to build a team dynamic that can withstand any unknown by getting a copy of my latest book, How Teams Triumph: Managing by Commitment or tuning into my podcast The Conversation with Clinton M. One thing is certain: there will be uncertainty involved in your project. When everyone can anticipate the possibility of pinch-hitting, this can result in smoother transitions when necessary. Since you can’t just abandon your plan when an unknown unknown happens, be prepared to ask, “What can be done now?” Adaptability, creativity, and teamwork will be required as you consider a revised strategy moving forward.Īs a part of your response to the known and unknown unknowns, there should also be awareness and understanding across the team that there may be situations that call for picking up slack or responsibilities throughout the process to stay on schedule. As the HBR article stated, it is helpful to consider what would need to happen in worst-case scenarios. Ultimately, response to the unknown unknowns requires a great level of flexibility. Like those hard-to-plan-for known unknowns, managing unknown unknowns are difficult. Pandemics, fires, hurricanes, tsunamis can and do happen but there is no way to plan for when. Therefore, build these activities and time into the schedule. If you’re working on a project that requires numerous supervisory approvals, you know those will take time. These known unknowns can be proactively addressed during the planning phase by either building additional time (duration) into the affected tasks or by adding additional activities to address these risk factors. Some unknowns are easier to plan for than others. For example, you can almost always anticipate an activity needing several iterations of testing, or additional time related to rework or debugging. Or, what about the key contributor on your team that up and leaves the company with no warning? Again, an unknown unknown that you’re likely not anticipating at the start of a project. Thankfully, most projects don’t encounter such devastating unknown unknowns however, unknown unknowns come in all shapes and sizes and need to be planned for. No one sees these coming until it is too late. Things like the tsunami that destroyed Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a fire burning down your factory, or say, a global pandemic.
Unknown unknowns are the crazier things that you could never plan for in a million years.
The Unknown (Did Not See That Coming) Unknowns
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