Drove My Chevy To The Levee, And The Levee Was Dry . . .

So sang Don McLean in American Pie, an anthem to milestones in popular American music.

In the day, every male in the country over the age of 11 was either a Chevy Man or a Ford Man, with Chevy carrying a greater testosterone load. These self-affiliations were made irrespective of family history or any logic whatever.

Chevy was in the ascendancy in the early '60s, with prowess claimed on the race track. After ghastly and spectacular crashes and casualties, all major manufacturers forswore further racing in approximately 1962.

The letter of the vow was observed, but not the spirit. Rebels within GM quietly prepared for an inevitable future, producing a street-legal, track ready production automobile disguised as a 1963 Corvette.

The enhanced engine block, accompanied by a massive fuel tank, was available only in the coupe version, but not as a convertible, and fewer than 200 were produced, possibly because the price tag would have bought a Jaguar, with plenty of change to spare for a night on the town.

Here's the supply chain management challenge. Not everyone is dominant in planning, execution, and customer satisfaction. Even fewer are paradigm-busters and game-changers.

But, some are. So, what is your Plan "B"? What's up your sleeve to compete with those who are marching at the head of the parade? What resources have you stockpiled to deploy when the competition shows signs of making the leader/laggard gap? Really?

If Plan "C" is to try to make do without a Plan "B", when will you start on the moves that keep the enterprise off life support until the first responders either work their magic, or give up and bring out the toe tag?