A FEW WEEKS AGO I TOOK A LITTLE TRIP TO THE BIG SMOKE…
Oct 2021
If you’ve ever been to London, you’ll know how much of a maze it can be. Navigating the underground is no mean feat. But with a bit of planning and preparation, we found our way with little bother. Fast forward a couple of weeks, I’ve got a meeting with my IT support crew, just to touch base, catch up and keep that personal relationship strong after the pandemic.
We’re meeting in Birmingham, at the new Grand Central Station.
Now, I’m a city lad, born and bred in Brum, so I did no planning. I know my way around my own home town – or so I thought. I was oh so very wrong. Grand Central Station is a huge, shiny building filled with everything you could possibly need on a train journey. There’s cafes, shops, takeaways – even a stall giving away free lateral flow tests!
But it’s HUGE. And I had no idea where to go.
After 20 wasted minutes wandering around, on the phone, struggling to navigate the mammoth building, I finally made it to the restaurant we were meeting in. It was a good reminder of an important lesson. Preparation and planning matters. Even when you’re doing something you’re super confident in, you should still plan, prep are prepare.
Going to a sales meeting? Spend a few minutes checking your pitch and making sure you know exactly where to go. Launching a new marketing campaign? Plan it properly, proof it and make sure your systems are prepared for the influx of leads. Going live on social media? Plan what you’re going to say and what outcome you want from your call to action.
It’s like the boy scout’s motto – “Be Prepared”.
How many times in business have things gone wrong because you tried to cut a corner, save time and skip the preparation?