It’s March.
Green everywhere.
Shamrocks in store windows.
Leprechauns guarding pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Luck is fun.
It’s just not how well-run businesses usually operate.
Because no business owner would ever say:
- “Our hiring strategy is whoever walks in the door.”
- “Our sales plan is hoping customers find us.”
- “Our accounting approach is the numbers probably work out.”
That would be ridiculous.
And yet…
Somewhere Along the Way, Tech Gets a Pass
In a lot of small businesses, technology recovery quietly runs on a different standard.
Not intentionally.
Not recklessly.
Just… optimistically.
- “We’ve never had an issue.”
- “It’s probably backed up somewhere.”
- “We’ll deal with it if something happens.”
That’s not a plan.
That’s a lucky charm.
And unless you’ve got a leprechaun assigned to your IT systems, it’s not a great strategy.
Why “We’ve Been Fine So Far” Isn’t a Strategy
Here’s the trap:
When nothing bad has happened, it feels like proof that you’re safe.
It isn’t.
Being “fine so far” usually just means you haven’t had to test your recovery plan under pressure.
Luck isn’t a process.
It’s uncertainty you haven’t bumped into yet.
And uncertainty doesn’t care how long you’ve been running without an incident.
Prepared vs. “Probably Fine”
Most businesses don’t find out how prepared they are until they’re already stuck.
That’s when the questions start:
- “Do we have a backup?”
- “How recent is it?”
- “Who handles this?”
- “How long are we down?”
Prepared businesses already know the answers.
Hopeful businesses discover them in real time.
And real time is expensive.
The Double Standard Most Businesses Don’t Notice
Think about where you don’t tolerate uncertainty.
Hiring has a process.
Sales have a pipeline.
Finances have systems and controls.
Customer service has standards.
Technology recovery?
A lot of businesses have… hope.
Somewhere along the way, “what happens when something breaks” became the one business-critical function that feels okay to wing.
Not because you don’t care.
Because the risk stays invisible until the day it isn’t.
And invisible risk is still risk.
This Isn’t About Fear. It’s About Professionalism.
Being prepared doesn’t mean you’re expecting disaster.
It means:
- knowing what happens next
- reducing guesswork
- limiting downtime where you can
- making interruptions more manageable and less chaotic
The most resilient businesses aren’t lucky.
They’re deliberate.
They stop relying on “probably fine,” and start relying on systems.
A Simple Reality Check
You don’t need a consultant to figure out where you stand.
Ask yourself this:
If your accountant handled your books the way you handle tech recovery, would you be comfortable?
- “We’re probably tracking expenses somewhere.”
- “I think someone reconciled recently.”
- “We’ll figure it out when tax season hits.”
You wouldn’t accept that.
So why does technology get a pass?
The Takeaway
St. Patrick’s Day is a great excuse to wear green and hope for good fortune.
It’s a terrible model for running a business.
Strong companies don’t rely on luck in hiring, sales, or finance.
They don’t rely on it in technology recovery either.
They hold their systems to the same standard they hold everything else.
So, when something unexpected happens, because things do happen, they can get back to work without panic.
Next Steps
Your business may already have solid systems in place, and if it does, that’s great.
But if parts of your technology still rely on “we’ll figure it out if it happens,” it may be worth a quick check-in.
No scare tactics. No pressure. Just a quick conversation about how to close the gap between how you run everything else and how you handle recovery.
If this doesn’t sound like your business, feel free to forward it to someone it does.