The first mistake I want to share in this season is when I chose a major in college. While I was young and naive, it still is a teachable moment to prepare for meetings. This incident was not my last mistake around meetings. However, it is a good launching point for those further discussions. The error covered here is also one that may set the stage for later mistakes. We will discuss those as the season progresses.
Prepare For Meetings Large and Small
No meeting is too small. That mantra can help you avoid all sorts of mistakes in life. I have found that we often discount a meeting or discussion, fail to prepare, and then wish we could get a do-over. This situation is not just one that occurs in business. How often has your personal life included a flippant or off-the-cuff remark that set the wrong tone? When we over-prepare, we will not regret it as much as when we under prepare. But, of course, that also means we should be confident enough to cancel or reschedule when we realize we are not adequately prepared.
Decisions Matter
While we focus on our need to prepare for meetings, there is also the idea of decisions making a difference. We may be asked our opinion or select a path without realizing it. Maybe this episode will help keep us all more alert as to when we are being asked to make a choice. The roads we do not travel are almost as important as the ones that we do.
If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams’ book, “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life.”
