“The failure to prepare is the preparation of failure”

“The failure to prepare is the preparation of failure”

          Like in many cases in business and personal life we find ourselves to believe that things are difficult. Difficult to achieve our monthly sales targets, difficult to find a job, difficult to meet the deadlines, difficult to earn the money you want.

          Apart from the obvious reason that our attitude towards a situation is what determines the outcome there is one other important factor to consider, “Preparation”.

          Failure to prepare is like preparing to fail. For about a decade now I have been participating in numerous interviews when looking for employees. The vast majority would come unprepared in all sorts of ways. In many cases not even knowing the number of shops the company owned not to mention its history. Needless to mention that all they had to do is visit our website!

It’s so simple most of the times to get prepared for something that is important and yet most people fail to do so and often blame others for their failure. A very recent example can even be seen in the case of Cyprus. A failure to prepare a solid plan B in case the first didn't work out in the Eurogroup meeting had dramatic result for the whole economy.

          Preparation is what usually separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Whatever is you are doing in your business or personal life I believe you can recall a moment when your failure to prepare had a cost on you.

So here are some actions you can take so next time you are prepared to have a successful outcome in whatever it is you have to achieve:

1.    Organize your time. Set the time frame you will need to prepare and exclude any distractions.

2.    Write down what a successful outcome means to you. Whether a test or a job interview it is important for you to understand fully how much this thing means to you.

3.    Gather the resources you will need to prepare in advance. Don’t waste your preparation time in the search of what you might need. Have everything ready well ahead.

4.    Cover all possibilities. Write down all the possibilities that might appear and prepare you actions accordingly. If you are meeting a customer let’s say, they might have multiple questions. Having no answer to give is simply unacceptable.

5.    Be relaxed. Stress can destroy both your preparation and the event. If you feel you need a brake take one and let your mind and body relax. Stress can block your ability to process information.

6.    Simulation. Apart from studying, a very helpful method would be to create an environment similar to the upcoming event to help familiarize with the real conditions. For example if you are preparing a presentation ask a few friends to act like an audience and give you feedback.

7.    Prepare yourself too. Apart from preparing the material do not forget to prepare yourself too. It can be of equal importance what clothes you wear, how friendly you are or how well you know the customs of the environment you are into.