The Importance of Preparation

For the past four years my cousin and I go on what we call a hiking adventure. In the past we have hiked the Grand Canyon and mountains in Vermont and Wyoming. This year, we tackled the Rocky Mountain, specifically Flat Top Mountain in Colorado. Over 12,000 feet in elevation, it is one of the 50 highest points in the continental United States. Like those other parts of our country, the natural beauty of the Rockies is breathtaking and deserves to be seen and enjoyed by everyone. As enjoyable as these adventures are, however, they are also quite challenging and are not to be approached lightly. Each requires preparation.

I learned a valuable lesson this year regarding preparation that applies to most everything else in our lives that is important, including communication. I did not prepare as well as I should have (unlike my cousin). We did not quite make it the top of Flat Top because I did not get myself into the shape required not only to contend with the distance and terrain of the trail, but the rise in elevation that was also part of the mix. Consequently, we ended up within a little less than a mile of the top when I simply ran out of gas. On that given day, I did not have the physical reserve to make the full hike because the preparation I did was not good enough. My mistake was assuming what I had done in the past would be adequate for the present.

The key takeaway here was that what works in the past in terms of achieving success does not guarantee similar results in the future. This truism directly applies to communication and public relations campaigns. To make such an assumption is foolish. This not to say we should ignore efforts and result of the past. No way. But each new assignment or challenge we face needs to be viewed on its own merits because the present is never exactly the same as the past. In the case of this year's hike, I was older and the hike itself was a bit more difficult than several of our earlier ones. I failed to give it the respect it deserved. If there is one thing hikes and communication deserve, it is respect. (Author's note: This year's hiking adventure was still as much of a blast as ones in the past have been.)