We bought our house more than 30 years ago. One feature I appreciated right from the start is the lawn irrigation system. No moving sprinklers around; no need to even remember to water — it’s all built in and automatic.
Recently, though, the system has been behaving badly, mostly in the form of leaks.
Fortunately, our sprinkler-servicing company has determined the problem is due to a failing, but easy-to-replace valve located in the box that controls the irrigation system. Unfortunately, beyond “underground someplace,” nobody knows exactly where that box is located.
The company has tried to find it by employing a variety of metal detecting tools, but so far nothing. They have now resorted to digging, an exercise that is increasingly making our backyard look like an archaeological site.
Who’s to blame for all this? I suppose it’s the fault of the company that did the original installation. That said, it’s easy to picture them thinking that since the valves last a long time, there was no need to document or visibly indicate where the box is located.
But as we are now learning firsthand, “a long time” is not the same as forever.
The Future Seems Far Away
As it turns out, it’s not just lawn irrigation companies that fall victim to this mindset. Many businesses and nonprofits focus their attention and investment exclusively on the short and medium term, never considering the implications of today’s decisions far down the road.
Consider satellites, for example. It’s been known from the start that these have a long (but not infinite) life, and that they eventually fail and perhaps return to Earth. Sure, most of them burn up upon entry. But as a recent NY Times article explains, many do not, and the number of incidents (and newly launched satellites) is rapidly increasing. While the timeframe may be long and the likelihood of serious complications small, it only takes one fiery piece of space debris landing on your house to ruin your day.
So, with that in mind, what can organizations do to reduce the damage that may occur years or decades out into the future? Two suggestions…
#1. Document Your Actions
I know of a large online retailer (no, it is not Amazon) that built its site as quickly as possible, always assuming they would circle back later and document what was created. Over time, the developers continued to add features and functionality, yet somehow, “later” never arrived for documentation.
With each passing year, it has gotten more difficult to fix problems as they occur. Much of the core application was written in an older computer language, and the original creators are no longer with the company. Given the risk of breaking something nobody understands, the current team is often left with no choice but to write new code that works around the older code.
As with my irrigation box, documenting what was done and why at the start could have yielded significant benefits in the future.
#2. Anticipate What’s Coming
Nobody knows how the future will unfold. But by making some educated guesses, we can keep our options open until things become clearer.
In 2017, I began working with the University of North Dakota to address the gradual but continuing decline in enrollment and graduation rates. One opportunity we saw and built into the strategy was the growth of remote education. Yes, UND was (and still is) primarily a residential university. But we saw a general threat from competitors offering more online programs and a potential opportunity to support the continuing education of servicepeople stationed at the local Air Force Base.
So we allocated resources into the plan to develop a partnership for strengthening online teaching capability. That decision, along with what was at the time a modest financial investment, turned out to provide a major benefit when the pandemic arrived just a few years later.
What future changes might occur in your industry, location, or circumstances overall that could result in big problems or big opportunities for your organization? It’s a lot better to think about them now than to wait for tomorrow to arrive.
Reflections
For both early-stage companies and nonprofits, investments in new programs or activities are often done in the face of limited resources and significant time constraints.
Even so, allocating at least some resources towards the creation of clear documentation, as well as monitoring and funding smaller experiments, can lead to as yet unknown opportunities while avoiding often significant future problems.
