The Will to Prepare To Win is Greater than The Will to Win

"The Will to Prepare To Win is Greater 
than The Will to Win.  . . ."
- Bobby Knight 

(updated at 15:15 hr.)

There are many variations of the mentioned quote. The gist is based on the significance of proper preparation in any strategic situation.  

The initial concept of this quote is similar to the "preparation precedes performance."  But the latter does not touch on the psychology of being prepared and how to stay focused on the current objective.  

From our professional experience, the understanding of "the psychology of preparation" usually enables the budding strategist to accelerate their performance of preparation.

Comprehending the reasoning behind the preparation and how to adjust to the situation is the essence of why certain strategists succeeds. 

While knowing the approach to seeing the configuration of one's Big Tangible Picture is the key to a smooth preparation session, defining the specific factors behind the configuration is the real challenge.

Whether the current objective is to prepare oneself for writing software programs or brewing tea or playing Bagua zhang,, he/she is always aware of the next current situation, based on the configuration of their terrain (the priorities, the time of day, the resources, etc.). 

Reading the situation means understanding the importance of assessing, positioning and influencing before ever pursuing an objective.

The low attention people usually have the need for immediate gratification, are usually in trouble in complex situations that require multiple steps. Any encounter of complex obstacles usually frustrate them first and then deter them from continuing.   They are living in the moment.

To strategize well, focus on increasing one's attention span while decreasing the need of immediate gratification 

Psychology is Strategy
A quote could only motivate someone for a limited period of time. But the constancy and the consistency of positive preparation increases one's will to win .

Those who rely on their "emotional will", have occasionally prevail in situations that is driven by short time intervals. But they will burn out in a long time-driven situation.

Methodical By Style: Be Deliberate

Source

(It is presumed that the planning strategist has properly collected the information.)

The first step of planning and preparation begins by methodically outlining each specific objective with a timeline and the approach. Connecting them in a sequential order by the prioritization of objectives while being mindful of the timeline, the allocation of the resources, the economics, the risks, etc. Building the script is the name of the game

The next step is the performance of each step efficiently until one could see the following step while doing the current step. Follow the script. Do it deliberately and slowly until one gets into the flow and ebb of the script.

Side note:  The assessment of one's own tangible situation (including the risk factor and the rewards factor) usually determine the amount of preparation 

This leads to one of our favorite Compass Strategic Principles.  . . .

"The amount of quality time and effort spent in assessing and positioning (through planning and preparation) is inversely proportional to the amount of time  that it takes to influence the circumstance of the objective while implementing through the plan.  .."

We will touch on that specific principle in a future post.