"You Need to Quit Getting Ready to Get Ready and Do Something!"

"You Need to Quit Getting Ready to Get Ready and Do Something!"

The managing partner of a company with which I was employed a number of years ago said this to one of the people who worked for him.

"...quit getting ready to get ready ..."

In a nutshell, he was telling this person that, while planning was important, at some point they had to take action on their plans. Planning was only the start; action was required for those plans to come to fruition. Plans are useless without subsequent action. As a bit of background, this person was in a sales capacity. They developed lots of great looking plans, but they failed to take the action required to turn those plans into meaningful results. This person fell victim to what is often described as "analysis paralysis." They spent an inordinate amount of time "getting ready to get ready."

So... what does this have to do with public relations?

EVERYTHING.

All too often, I speak with people who are planning to develop and implement a public relations strategy or launch a PR campaign for their business. They have lots of big ideas, and seem to have a vision for what they want to achieve.

When I speak with them a year later, they are still planning to develop that strategy or launch that campaign. They are still "getting ready to get ready."

Let me be clear: I am a big believer in giving any worthwhile effort the planning and forethought it deserves. However, we are often tempted to try to develop the "perfect" plan before we take action. No plan is perfect. At some point, we have to stop "getting ready to get ready" and take action. Otherwise, another year will have passed and we will be in the same position in which we now find ourselves.

Action unnecessarily delayed is inaction.

In closing, I thought you might be interested to know the identity of the person to whom my former managing partner directed his comment. That employee was me; his simple, succinct statement, "You need to quit getting ready to get ready and do something," had a profound impact on me. It has been nearly eight years since he made that statement to me, and it is as clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

"You need to quit getting ready to get ready and do something!" That statement changed the way I approach my business. I hope it will change the way you approach your public relations program.