Here we go with the pre-positioning of upcoming financial results. Yes, things might not be as good next quarter because we expect our dog will eat our homework or our little brothers will spill gravy on our term paper. Everybody panics when NYC is blacked out for something like 7 or 8 days over 28 years, and then they pat themselves on the back for not looting. After the blackout last Friday, companies were already reporting that their upcoming quarterly results might be negatively affected by the blackout. Similarly, I've recently seen reports by graphic arts suppliers that they're either waiting for an uptick in sales because of Drupa or their costs are increasing because of Drupa. Yes, put the gravy on the stove or get Fido good and hungry for 3-hole looseleaf paper!

While these warnings might be legitimate, we should "get real." Part of our job as business people is to be ready for unexpected events. There are events every quarter that can make things improve or make things decline: an important sales rep leaves, a key executive is sick, suppliers are late with materials, banks get stingy when it comes to a short-term loan, a major customer delays an order, or a competitor grabs a client you thought was rock solid in your camp. For events like blackouts or other disruptions, we buy insurance. But the insurance that most companies rely on comes from a discipline of planning. Procedures should already be in place for many unexpected events. And that's why we put some of our cash and other resources aside, just to be ready for those unexpected events that always seem to be occurring. Yes, part of being a manager is to expect the unexpected. Life is what happens when you’re planning other things, as the saying goes.

Some of these "warnings" we have been hearing lately make business people seem like such unprepared whiners. Yes, I know that some investors or members of the business press are not always aware of industry events and how they affect costs, and there is a legal requirement to inform investors, but so many of the daily crises that executives handle could have far greater impact than the blackout did. It sure would be nice to see a line in some of these financial releases that says, "We have appropriate cash reserves for these situations" or perhaps, “We have had drills and simulations with our management team concerning events like this one, and we moved swiftly to put those plans into place.”