I went on a walk the other day with a dear friend. As we meandered the beautiful Lake Harriet Rose Gardens near my house, I was bemoaning my two boys faults (dirty socks on the floor, leaving crumbs on the kitchen counter, staring at their iPods for HOURS, not taking the trash out, ad nauseum…

My friend is older than me and has grown up kids, he’s also a former Navy guy. He told me about a technique that he learned in the service that he had used on his kids when they were young, although he changed the language a bit to reflect the audience :).

Pre Planning Prevents Poor Performance

There you have it. One simple phrase. It resonated deeply with me. I’ve always been a planner. From my wedding, my two aforementioned boys births, moving, vacations, schooling, diaper bag packing. Everything. I have finally realized that by planning these things I’ve decreased my anxiety about upcoming changes.

I do a lot of pre-planning for my clients: identifying resources, creating benchmark/deadline calendars and figuring out the search strategy. But, I’ve realized that to grow Outside Knowledge, I need to work the 5 Ps myself! Luckily, I have an amazing Mastermind group with members of the Association of Independent Information Professionals. I’ve also got the help of Marketing Coach Goddess Jill Celeste, whose 21 Day Marketing Challenge is going to keep me on track.

So, now that August has arrived, I’m going to start the real challenge of living up to my 5 P’s. I’ve got the building blocks I need, the energy (I hope) to pull it off, and mad skills to rock it!

I’m going to Pre Plan to Prevent Poor Performance! How do you use the 5 Ps?

P.S. Maybe I can get my sons to embrace the concept, too!! 🙂