Preparation is vital, every time!

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by Jed on June 2, 2010

On Sunday I completed my second ever Plymouth Half Marathon and am pleased to say that I made a slight improvement on my time this time around. However this is despite putting in far less training time this year and despite this improvement, I have never found anything so difficult! This years experience has reminded me how important preparation is in all areas of my life, not only when I am new to something, but each and every time.

Last years weather conditions were extremely difficult for running, the sun was scorching and there wasn’t much in the way of cloud cover and breeze. However my training effort paid off in the race as I managed to run it without too much pain or difficulty. I remember being especially pleased as it was my first ever half marathon.

However, this years conditions were far better for running as although the sun was shining (which made it brilliant for crowd support), there was also some cloud cover and a lovely breeze in places. I am sure that this is the reason why my time improved this time around. Despite this improvement in time I was far from satisfied because of the difficulty and pain I endured all the way around (and because I have been unable to walk properly for days afterwards).

Looking back on it now, it could well be that because I ran the half marathon fairly easily last time around that I was complacent this year. This, I can assure you is a mistake I will not be making again! I have made this mistake in other areas as well though, and I’m sure those of you reading will have too. I have worked hard preparing a training course and been delighted with how it went, only to put in less effort and preparation the second time around and delivered what I felt was a poor course as a result. And the same can be said for presentations, exams, reports, assignments, meetings and all sorts of other things in the past.

Don’t get me wrong, I have always understood the importance of preparation when something is new to you, but I can now see how important it is EVERY time, and I can’t envisage a time when it will cease to be.

I would love to hear your examples of a time where you have been complacent and realised the importance of continuous preparation, or whether you have found that preparation has become less important to you over time.

Tagged as: business, Business skills, personal attributes, personal qualities, presenting, training

  • http://www.theexperiencefactor.com/the-x-blog Kelly Ketelboeter

    Hi Jed,

    First of all congratulations on completing the 1/2 marathon!! That is an awesome accomplishment. I wouldn't run anywhere unless my couch was on fire! Second, I love the connection you have made to preparation based on your experience.

    As a fellow trainer, I can echo your experience of not preparing for the second, third or fourth training session with the same intensity I did for the first training session. It's easy to breathe that sigh of relief after you have completed the first session and then move on to preparing another topic or session rather than prepare for the second session on the same topic. I learned a long time ago that I have to continue to prepare in order to deliver an excellent session every single time no matter how many times I have trained it. What I review and what I prepare may be different each time but it's still preparation and key.

    I have also found myself not preparing for phone calls, conference calls or webinars as I would a training session. I am guilty of blindly going into a call completely unprepared. I know I can tell and I am sure the other people can too. Now I take at least 10 minutes prior to every call to get in the mindset and make sure I am ready for the call.

    Thanks for the reminder about how important preparation is!
    Kelly

  • http://twitter.com/Leadershipfreak Dan Rockwell

    Jed,

    Way to go on second 1/2 marathon. Congratulations.

    Thanks for your transparency and sharing important truths from your life.

    I'm guilty of leaving preparation to the last minute. I use urgent or pressing matters to put of preparation. It's a lame excuse. Some one said an excuse is the skin of a reason wrapped in a lie.

    Best to you,

    Dan

  • http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

    Thanks for your comments Kelly. It's amazing how sometimes an event in your personal life can throw up these reminders that transfer over to your professional life! It's a great idea to take 10 minutes to prepare for a phone call, I definitely think I could benefit from doing this sometimes.

    It really is a great idea to put the time into preparing for every training course no matter how many times you deliver it. That way it always feels fresh and will keep on getting better. I also think that complacency puts you in the wrong frame of mind for interacting with people and always feel sharper, even if I only take 10 minutes to get my mind straight.

    Thanks again for another excellent input!

  • http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

    Hi Dan, I really appreciate your kind comments.

    I do the same as you, it's astonishing how our minds can convince us that there are more pressing issues, even when deep down we know we should be putting our efforts into important preparation.

    Thanks for stopping by again!
    Jed

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