The Independent Consultant's Guide To Preparation (15 Years of Lessons Condensed Into One Post)

You can't anticipate everything that will go wrong, but you can anticipate the vast majority of things which can trip you up and prepare for them like a professional. Here are fifteen years of lessons

Last weekend, Lana Del Rey turned up 30 minutes late to the biggest performance of her life.

She told her frustrated fans it was because her hair took a long time to do, then said she would rush through her set. She later became upset that her set was cut short.

And the fans are upset with the organisers?

If you can’t show up on time for the biggest performance of your career, that’s entirely a preparation problem which you need to fix early.

Pride and Professionalism

Being prepared is an act of pride and shows your professionalism. It shows you respect the audience and have the discipline required for the project.

A failure to prepare, sadly, always suggests an unprofessional approach.

Lana Del Rey’s act reminded me of a situation we faced many years ago. We had a well-known speaker at an event we hosted in London.

She turned up a few minutes before her talk, complained about the size of the room, and then began her 30-minute session by spending 15 minutes having attendees introduce t…