Chance Favors the Prepared Mind

Every organization is faced with four futures and we can prepare for all of them. And as much as we like to think we are change pioneers and that change has never been so pervasive, a look at history reveals that mankind has been similarly challenged before. The Industrial Revolution was a time of similarly dramatic change. The opportunities of industrialization that were transforming society were accompanied by problems as masses of people flocked to rapidly growing cities. Contagion was rampant and urban neighborhoods were centers of sickness and death. When, in the midst of this turbulent time, biologist Louis Pasteur made his breakthrough discoveries about the nature of contagious diseases and treatments for rabies and anthrax, some people claimed that these discoveries and innovations were a matter of luck. Pasteur’s often-quoted response was that “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Luck wasn't the issue: Pasteur knew the value of mental readiness. Can we say the same for ourselves?

We are NOT the victims of the business environment; we succeed or fail depending on the quality of our preparations and our actions. When you study success and failure you find eight skills that determine the degree of preparedness. Some of these skills are used independently, others in combination. This presentation explains the eight skills through current, relevant examples and stories and provides tools and techniques to better prepare your mind, and the collective mind of your organization, to deal with the four futures that every company faces.

Bill Welter heads up Adaptive Strategies, Inc., a small business that focuses on improving performance through tailored education. He has had plenty of opportunity to deal with the vagaries of chance during his four careers. He can be reached at bill.welter@mindprep.com

Go to PreparedLeader.com to preview his book The Prepared Mind of a Leader.

Adaptive Strategies, Inc. 2005