Preparation precedes execution

Preparation precedes execution

By Ozias Mucheriwa

It is beyond mortal discretion to fathom how much can be achieved by executing a task after proper prior preparation. It is surprising how the average people do not value the importance of preparation in life. They allow themselves to perform important tasks without adequate preparation. Executing a task without ample preparation is a recipe for failure. A lawyer who stands before the jury unprepared can cost a client millions of dollars in a lawsuit. A student who sits for an examination without proper prior preparation or planning only has his or her own ineptitude to blame for second-rate results. A business executive meeting shareholders without preparing for the same only stand to invoke the scorn of the shareholders. In every field of endeavor; social, political, economical and spiritual, preparation is the bright golden thread woven through every comportment of success.

In a business negotiation the prospect can tell if the negotiator is unprepared. In an interview the interviewer does not need exceptional perception to conclude whether the interviewee is prepared or not. Unpreparedness can cause irreparable damage to your reputation and professionalism. It is unequivocally advisable not to perform a task for which you’re unprepared.

When tackling any kind of job, if you invest sufficient time in preparation, a relatively small amount of effort and time will be required for carrying out. Conversely if preparation is not thought through, application of more effort and mediocre results can become inevitable. It is astonishing how most people just go ahead and execute without proper prior preparation. Try to recall how frustrating it was the last time that you attempted to do a job or make a sales presentation for which you were unprepared. Remember those sneering looks and brusque retorts, let alone the stammering. You can spare yourself such ridicule by carefully taking time to prepare. Preparation brings with it extraordinarily impressive results. Proper preparation propels you to greater heights.

When you get yourself prepared for any encounter, it could be a job interview, a marketing presentation or an examination, the sense of massive confidence and psychological edge that you gain enables you to perform at your best. When you take time to study your customer, getting to understand what they want and why they want it that way, your figures will quadruple and you will certainly leave your competitors in the dust. Analyze the trends in your industry. Figure out why some commodities are falling in price while others are rising. Look at the figures, analyse your competition. Understand the needs of your customer. Polish the words that you will use in front of the prospect and avoid the temptation of saying the wrong words at inappropriate times. Break through the barrier that causes preparation time to be labelled “unproductive time.”

Preparation separates the winners from the also-rans. When Toyota wanted to venture into manufacturing of luxury vehicles for the US market, its research team was sent to live luxuriously and learn the tastes and preferences of its prospective customers. They lived in Laguna Beach, California for several months just to get an appreciation of what their customers wanted. US$1billion was invested in the project and out of this a powerful LS400 was born. Needless to say, the venture was a considerable success. If you develop the habit of preparing for any task at hand you are guaranteed to swim upstream all your life.

It is as certain as night follows day that if you continue living on the planet you will complete the next ten years. The questions is what plans have you put in place for those ten years? What have you planned for your life in the next twenty, thirty and fifty years? The prudent break them into smaller periods and assess their progress gradually. This helps to determine whether you are progressing towards your goals or drifting thereby allowing for the necessary adjustments to be made. If you do not plan for your life you will still live but the questions is how? What kind of a lifestyle will you lead? This is the period that many people are finalizing or have already finalized their new year’s plans or resolutions. Instead of focussing solely on 2010 I would urge you to broaden your horizon and stretch yourself further to the next five, ten and twenty years. When the time progresses as it will surely do you will be found prepared for what life has to offer.

Some say that luck is nothing other than chance meeting preparedness. No matter who you are or where you come from, if you invest sufficient time in preparing for what you have to do excellently you will develop a self-propelled upward spiral. Do not rush to implement before you are certain that enough time and resources have been put into preparation. Take time to get yourself prepared for who you want to be in the future. You do not have to wait for the future to come before you start preparing. Start preparing now and the future will find you prepared