In life, professionally and personally, it is always wise to cover all of your bases. Protection against lawsuits, cyber attacks, and disgruntled employees is always a good idea because if there is a weak spot or a flaw somewhere in your armor, someone can bring you down and bring you down fast. Cover all of your bases so that you are always well protected.
Get It In Writing
When it comes to business or to personal business, always get it in writing. If you are working with any kind of contract, always have someone look it over and always ensure it is documented. When it comes to terminating contracts like leases for apartments, business agreements between companies, or marital paperwork, get an attorney and notary public to ensure everything is correct and properly authenticated.
Get Your IT In Order
When it comes to IT, always work with an IT expert. Information technology is one of those facets of business that you should never do alone. IT experts have the expert skills to build firewalls, run tests to ensure you are fully protected, and fix problems as they arise. If any cyber attacker finds the littlest crack in your security, they will exploit it and get important and sensitive information about yourself, your employees, and your clients. Once that wall of trust is broken, you could sink fast.
Don’t Make Friends
Employees are your team and not your friends. It is a common mistake among higher management to want to be liked as much as they are respected, and this mindset allows for taking down your guard and blurring the lines between superior and subordinate. Team members can not only take advantage of you, but they can try and initiate their own agenda getting higher management in trouble.
When you keep the boundaries sharp and well-defined, there is a lower risk of someone trying to play you. Document all meetings and interactions where you can. If you feel an employee might be a loose cannon, never meet with them alone so they can’t spin lies or take what you have discussed with them out of context. A lot of people get paranoid very easily and may try anything to keep their job.
Keep Your Files Organized
Organization is the key to success, and when you keep on top of all your files, there is little room for human error. If anyone tries to say something happened that did not, if a client or other business accuses you of bad business tactics, or if a distributor or third party entity tries to go outside of their contract, you will have all the proof you need to set the record straight.
Keep your files neat. Have a hard copy and a digital copy so that there is always something on file for you to reference if need be. Never be caught without your tools sharpened.
Surround Yourself With the Right People
Sometimes the “right people” are those who don’t necessarily agree with you. To have a well-balanced team helping you make decisions, it is always important to split your team in half with those who vehemently disagree with you, and those who perpetually agree with you. This creates room for discussion on various topics and when half the room agrees and half the room disagrees, the middle ground is easier to define.
You will have the opportunity to get multiple views of a situation and find what works best for everyone, or what works best for a specific group. This kind of decision making team helps you keep everything and everyone covered so that no one person can say they are underrepresented and in need of having their voice heard.
Have Clear and Honest Communication
Being open and honest about what is happening at all times eliminates the potential for gossiping and speculation. When those two get together, lies and misinformation can spread like a wildfire burning everything down in its path. The more clear you are about business, the more everyone will know, and that’s a good thing.
Granted, team members don’t need to know everything, but if something directly affects them, let them know. This covers you from being accused of withholding information and being sneaky. The less ammunition you give clients, employees, or other businesses the less they are able to slander your good name or try to take you down under false pretenses.
It may seem neurotic to always think sabotage is around every corner, but always be prepared.
