Remaining stuck between the survive and thrive stages is a significant challenge for agency leadership. While each week brings changes in the economic outlook and new opinions about the future, decisions are being made on allocating resources, staffing and spending. Leading an agency in turbulent times is tough.

Knowing your likely and worst-case scenarios is essential. Planning for possible outcomes and the associated probability for each is an important part of leadership. Understanding what steps to take under each scenario will help avoid problems later.

Next steps: Discuss and debate the likely scenarios you should plan for. What are the high- and low-risk outcomes, and what are the key strategies under each scenario? What is the cost of doing nothing? Create an objective scenario plan now to be effective later.