captain's blog

Lots of progress has been made in C4 Atlanta these past few months! We have firmly established the focus of our mission, built a strong team dynamic and have been putting pedal to the metal in getting all the infrastructure we’ll need in place to have as explosively impactful a 2011 as possible.

That’s not to say some things haven’t slipped through the cracks. Sometimes course correction is necessary, and along the way I’ve had to learn how to rapidly shift gears in order to effectively navigate.

At this very moment, it’s time for another such course correction.. but this one happens to be fundamentally different from those previous: I’m having to shift all the way into high gear! While driving blindfolded.

That’s right! I’ve reached the point in which the usual approach doesn’t apply! While I’ve learned that excessive planning can be a killer, in this case any amount of planning is a certain killer!

Nearly a month ago, we announced our first professional development program at C4 Atlanta: “Entrepreneurship in the Arts.” It starts on October 23rd, participants will meet for 5 consecutive Saturdays, the tuition is $200 and there are slots for 15 or so people.

The problem? By last week (at which point I was in New York working on other C4 Atlanta projects) we’d heard from a few interested parties, but that was about it. We also realized that we hadn’t accounted for a number of one-time expenses we’re going to incur in having this seminar. Clearly, we hadn’t put in enough time on this specific project to execute it effectively. As the one who occasionally claims to be ‘a social media community person’, I feel like I dropped a ball here.

But wait! There are still 12 days left! And while that may not seem like much time to increase participation nor raise $5000 in funds to pay for it all, it may in fact be more than enough.. as long as I remember that reflexive action is what’s currently needed to get to the finish line in time.

Or maybe it’s the starting line…

Anyways, great pep talk! Let’s do this!!

(btw, this also classifies as our first real fundraising effort, so donate now!)

I think the universe is speaking to me.

It’s telling me… I rely too much on technology. And that I’m not prepared enough for when it fails me. Which, this past week and a half, has been CONSTANT! And since last night’s thunderstorm knocked out power for a bit and fried my modem, I’ve had a some time to reflect upon the activity of preparation.

I’ve come to realize that I’ve recently been shooting myself in the foot repeatedly by not being prepared for technological failures. I’m also starting to suspect that this may be a symptom of a deeper problem: I often don’t make preparation a priority nor do I consider it a core activity of many of the things I do on a daily basis.

Reflecting upon this past year, I have had very few disappointments with the decisions I’ve made and the things I’ve accomplished. However, just about every disappointment or setback I’ve experienced has had one common thread: lack of preparation on my part.

This is perhaps the answer to the question regarding how to take my time management skills to the next level. I have difficulty estimating how long some activities will take to accomplish which can lead to over promising to myself and others. Is the problem really my ability to estimate time? Or would my estimations be more accurate if I was had prepared beforehand?

I’ve long thought that preparation was a planning activity. Now I’m thinking it’s the first step in execution after planning. If so, then I need to learn how to recognize when greater preparation is required for anything I intend to do.

How does one cultivate this habit? I’m not entirely sure yet, but I suspect finding an answer to this question will also involve preparation.

Thoughts? Experiences? Stories?