LISBON, PORTUGAL – APRIL 28: A restaurant has no lights on during a power outage on April 28, 2025 … More in Lisbon, Portugal. There was a widespread power outage today in Spain and Portugal and parts of France. (Photo by Adri Salido\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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Last week, Spain and Portugal lost power for an entire day<\/a>. That\u2019s tens of millions of people and two advanced economies essentially shut down, completely. Not only was it a potentially dangerous situation for those on transit or under surgery, for instance, but it was the kind of \u201cBlack Swan\u201d event that can turn into a real problem for companies.<\/p>\n Now that power has been restored, leaders everywhere\u2014not just in Spain or Portugal\u2014need to review their plans for responding to disasters.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to devise your own disaster preparedness plan, so that when the next Black Swan event strikes, you\u2019re not starting from zero.<\/p>\n STEP 1: Prepare<\/p>\n In the near term, organizations need to make sure they have plans in place to respond to major power outages, especially in Europe. That\u2019s basic. We now know this is a risk, and anyone who doesn\u2019t develop a plan to keep their people safe and then either quickly restore power or move operations overseas until it is restored (if they\u2019re able) isn\u2019t doing their job.<\/p>\n Preparing for expected disasters should be the baseline. If you do business in Southern California, then you know that wildfire is a major, major risk. So, have a plan in place.<\/p>\n STEP 2: Practice<\/p>\n For issues that are potentially frequent or could truly shut down operations, it\u2019s important to also game out the response. Don\u2019t just have the plan in a binder somewhere, get your leadership team in a conference room and run through it. Stress test it. Do this periodically, so that everyone is up to speed and so you can identify plans that need to be refreshed.<\/p>\n STEP 3: Prioritize<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s impossible to prepare for everything. If I\u2019m using up resources trying to develop a plan for an asteroid strike, it probably means I\u2019m not paying attention to something much more likely to happen, like a storm, flood, or fire.<\/p>\n When creating your disaster response plans, then, you\u2019ve got to be smart about it. Everything can\u2019t be a priority, because then nothing is. Start with the things you know are a risk and that you\u2019re exposed to. Blackouts in Spain and Portugal. Wildfires in California. After 9\/11, everyone understood that they needed to have a plan for a major terrorist attack, not just for how to keep your people safe, but also for how to keep your servers running and to reassure your clients.<\/p>\n STEP 4: Research<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve developed plans for the obvious risks, it\u2019s time to do some research. What other things might happen? The definition of a Black Swan event is that it\u2019s unpredictable. But your research may reveal other kinds of events\u2014things with a 1-in-10 or 1-in-100 chance, for instance\u2014that you can prepare for.<\/p>\n Responding to the Black Swan<\/p>\n Now, I just said that Black Swan events were, by definition, impossible to predict. That\u2019s true. But that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t prepare for them. However, instead of being about to rely on specific details, you\u2019ll have to work from general principles.<\/p>\n Then, beyond those basic steps, survey your other plans that you\u2019ve already developed. If you\u2019re a retailer or a major importer, the processes you developed during COVID<\/a> may be helpful during tariff disruptions, for instance.<\/p>\n How so?<\/p>\n\n