I am sure most people have been involved in a brainstorming session. In its simplest form, you have an agenda built around how to improve a part of your business. It could be a creative exercise on how to make a new initiative better or creating a new product or a name for a new venture. These topics and a small group of people working together should lead to innovative ways of doing something better.

Now let’s turn a brainstorming session upside down. Instead of thinking about how to improve an area of the business, let’s think about how can we put the company out of business.

Let’s review some possible scenarios of doom.

The goal is to come up with as many possible ways of putting the company out of business.

Are there any key employees that the business cannot afford to lose?

What could the competition do?

• steal our largest customers
• purchase a supplier and cut us out
• sell products below cost

What could happen in the marketplace that could destroy us?

What decisions could we make that might stop us from existing?

What would occur if we lost our top 3 customers?

Now the fun begins. Breakdown every one of these scenarios and add more if you can and determine what you can do to survive these situations.

This exercise will help you be prepared if the worst happens.

After all you are only as strong as your weakest link.