This will be a quick post but read the unrelated sidebar below because it may be relevant to you and how you recover from a ransomware attack.
More and more clients are asking us to consider their exit strategy when we are helping them with their strategic planning initiatives. I could justify this using Stephen Covey’s advice to begin with the end in mind. But it goes a little deeper than that.
We can always conduct strategic planning as though the business will continue forever. Examining generically the actions that will increase the value of the business and we wouldn’t be wrong. BUT we might be able to be “righter” if we look at the specifics of an exit plan if we know what they are. For example, if we know that the owner would like to exit the business in order to retire in five years, the plan we create should emphasize preparing the next leader of the business to take over. …or alternatively, preparing the business for sale. Leaning it out and making it attractive to objective, disinterested buyers.
In order to capture this opportunity and act on it if necessary, the strategic planning process should always ask the question, do we know what the exit looks like… or what we would like it to look like.
Sidebar: The reality of ransomware
I kind of thought that ransomware attacks were waning as people had learned how to deal with them, but I’m not sure that’s the case. We may be seeing a spate of increased activity. Two firms I know and a third I just know by reputation have been hit recently. All three firms decided to pay the ransom. …and in all three cases they also went through extensive recovery efforts which ignored the data that was decrypted by the hackers, all of whom, by the way, were likely Russians.
In at least of the three cases, the decrypted data was not undamaged. I think the hackers unintentionally damaged the linkages and relationships of the files because they can’t encrypt the files instantaneously. This leaves some files out of sync with one another and essentially unusable in certain cases. So the businesses not only paid the ransom, but also paid dearly for the recovery of their systems. Some of this was covered by insurance and some was not. It depended on the policy the clients had, the limits of those policies etc. One client captured the logic of this succinctly; “Even if the files appeared to be completely undamaged, we would have restored the data ourselves, because we had to be sure the systems were clean. We don’t want them re-encrypting them if they need more cash.”
Keep this in mind as you are considering your course of action following a ransomware attack. Also you should know that the proceeds from these attacks go directly to finance the ware in Ukraine.
Call To Action
As you are conducting your annual strategic plan update, consider the owner’s assumptions about the disposition of their business and eventual exit in the formulation of the initiatives and plans to drive the value of the business
Call To Action
Select an initiative, either personal or business and begin working on improving your capabilities. If you would like help with this process, give us a call.
I hope you found something to apply to your business in this MBR. Let me know either way.
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