The case for being less prepared
When I started business school, I used to spend one hour minimum (often more) reading through the case study for each class.
By the time I graduated, I spent 15-20 minutes reading each case study.
When I first started my business, I used to have people fill out a whole form before they could book a consult call with me, and then I’d prepare a full coaching program for them before we got on the call.
Now, there’s no form, and I come to each call with just a few questions in mind.
I know some people who prepare for big presentations by writing out the full script of what they’re going to say and memorizing it.
I’ve never done this. I always just get the key points clear in my mind and start talking.
Is this me being lazy? Slacking off? Trying to skate by while doing the least?
NO.
When I prepped LESS for cases in business school, I had BETTER things to say in class.
When I prepped LESS for consult calls, I created BETTER roadmaps for how I could work with a potential client.
When I prep LESS for presentations, I do BETTER at getting my message across.
We’re so used to thinking that more preparation = more dedication and better results.
But I’m here to make the case for LESS preparation.
Because I don’t think preparation is what makes or breaks you.
You don’t need a word-perfect script or an exact plan to succeed.
I think presence is what makes or breaks you.
Being fully live in the moment.
Taking in everything that’s going on.
Focusing on what’s actually happening in front of you.
The problem with too much preparation is that it can take you out of the moment.
Your brain gets distracted, trying to remember exactly what you were going to say…
…or trying to find the right moment to shoehorn in your perfect pre-prepared comment.
And when you do that, you miss what’s happening LIVE.
You don’t pick up on the little piece of new information someone just gave you.
Or the unexpected connection between two seemingly unrelated comments.
Or how the mood in the room has subtly shifted.
You don’t need more preparation.
You already have what you need within you.
You just need a little bit more presence, to let what’s already in you come out.
^ This is an example of changing one of your brain’s mental models about how the world works.
Old mental model: More preparation = Better performance.
New mental model:
More presence = Better performance.
More preparation = Less presence.
Therefore: Less preparation = More presence = Better performance.
I’m not saying this new mental model is the word of god.
I’m just saying this is an alternate way to think about it.
Percolate on it. Play around with it. See what you think.
And see how it shifts how you feel, how you act, and the outcomes you create.
Changing your mental models is one of the things we do in my course & coaching program.
Mental models are your brain’s understanding of how the machinery of life works.
Of what it takes to get what you want. Of what inputs create what outputs.
Most of us formed our mental models of the world completely unconsciously, many many years ago…
(Often in school, which is very different from the real world.)
And then we’ve never updated or questioned them since.
But what if those mental models are wrong? Or at the very least, not accurate in your current context?
Let me give you some examples of default mental models that I discuss with clients all the time:
Old mental model:
First, you make a plan.
Then you get started.
If you don’t know where you’re going, then you can’t start.
Is this mental model true? What if it’s not?
What if getting started is how you figure out where you’re going?
What would you do differently then?
Old mental model:
If I’m completely straightforward about how I’m feeling, I’ll drive the other person away.
Therefore, I have to soften, twist, and hide how I’m feeling to preserve the relationship.
Is this mental model true? What if it’s not?
What if being honest and upfront is how you preserve and deepen the relationship?
What if (to quote a Reddit comment I saw recently) comfortable relationships require uncomfortable conversations?
What would you do differently then?
Your current mental models run your life.
They inform how you interpret what’s going on around you…
…And what you think your options are in every situation you face.
So let’s tweak some of upstream those assumptions about how the world works…
…And then watch the results flow down into all the areas of your life.
Join my course & coaching program waitlist today, to be the first to hear when the program is open and you can get started doing just that :)
What my clients have to say…
“I would recommend Pooja’s coaching to people who, growing up, have done well in school environments.
Because people who do well in those environments, oftentimes in the real world, they place a lot of pressure on themselves to continue doing well.
Whereas the real world is quite different to the school environment.”
—Client | Solutions Engineer at Fintech Company
^ Aka, you need different mental models for school vs. the real world :)
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