Chance favours the prepared mind

First an apology: I’ve been very busy the last few weeks so I’ve not been blogging so much.  Naturally the creation and launch of Software Strategy has kept me busy and so has the company’s first client where I am far busier than I have been for a long time.  Add to this friends and family visiting from abroad and a few things have had to give….

Despite this I wanted to capture a quote I read this week which I think is very wise.

Last weeks Economist carried a profile of Gerald Grinstein, no I hadn’t heard of him before either.  Turns out he is the boss of Delta Airlines and what he said was this:

“Chance favours the prepared mind”

Which when you think about it is so true.  If you spend time thinking about where you are, what needs doing, what options are available and how things might unfold then when chance occurs you know whether to grasp it or not.

This is what worries me about being so very busy.  When I’m busy busy, and when see companies who are busy “doing stuff” I find so often that opportunities are missed and much of the stuff that gets done isn’t necessarily the right stuff.

For example: I often advise people to keep a work diary (or journal as some would call it.) Writing a journal is not really about recording what happened but thinking about what the implications are and what might happen next.  As such it is an act of reflection.  I find that when I get busy my journal (and blogging!) get squeezed, but when this happens I loose direction and although I’m busy I am less effective.

So this is a reminder that in the middle of this very busy period I still need to find time to think and prepare my mind.

Still, a big apology to all those people who are waiting for replies to e-mails, letters and such.  I’m hoping to break out of this cycle real soon now!