If you remember the old TV show “Gilligan’s Island,” seven passengers go on a three-hour sightseeing tour that turns into a multi-year syndication when their boat gets shipwrecked on a desert island. Naturally, hilarious hijinks ensue as the crew struggles to find ways to escape the island and return home.  As unrealistic as this sounds, two NASA astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, boarded a Boeing Starliner for an eight-day mission, only to not be able to return for more than nine months.

Strategic and Contingency Planning Lessons from NASA’s Delayed Mission

What happened? The original Boeing Starliner, whose mission was to demonstrate its ability to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station, encountered numerous helium leaks and propulsion problems, which deemed it unsafe for humans to return home in.  Then, problem after problem and delay after delay occurred which prevented the astronauts’ return until a SpaceX Crew Dragon was finally able to safely bring them home 286 days later. Their eventual touchdown resulted in cheers of happiness and relief.

Planning is an essential function of management, as managers make strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency plans. “Strategic planning is the highest level of planning in management. It focuses on long-term objectives and involves setting the overall direction for the organization.

Typically, strategic plans span three to five years and serve as a blueprint for the organization’s growth and sustainability” (Educatly). Tactical planning translates the higher strategic plans into actionable steps in a one-to-three-year time period. Operational plans are immediate as they focus on day-to-day activities. Contingency plans are put into action when unexpected events occur.  Often referred to as a “Plan B,” they help to prepare for potential risks and emergencies. That is exactly what the astronauts needed, as their original plan was changed time and time again.

Using SWOT Analysis to Navigate Unexpected Challenge

Managers also need to consider their organizations’ environment by using a SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  Strengths and weaknesses are internal to an organization, whereas opportunities and threats are external. The mission of the NASA astronauts was threatened by external environmental factors which impacted their delay, during which time they traveled 121,347,491 miles and completed 4,576 Earth orbits.

However, they re-envisioned this delay into an opportunity to further their scientific research, maintenance operations, and technology demonstrations. “Williams performed two spacewalks, partnering with Wilmore and Hague to remove a radio frequency antenna, collect external surface samples, and install protective patches on an X-ray telescope’s light filters. Williams set a new record for cumulative spacewalking time by a female astronaut, logging 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the station” (Boyer). In addition, their more than 900 hours of research on stem cell technology to treat blood disorders and cancer could change the survival rate of afflicted patients.

Moral of the story?  Create your strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency plans wisely. You might not know when eight days will turn into more than nine months.