…..”Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of 10,000 is strong enough to defeat the 20,000 men who are marching against him?
(Jesus Christ…Luke 14:31).
Planning is important, for whatever you do, whether it is for profit, or not for profit.
As you set about your enterprise, you must always consider the consequences of your actions. Don’t just rush headlong into doing something; hoping it will work out, just the way you want it. There are many people who have caused suffering to themselves, or to their families, simply because they took on an opponent, who was bigger, and better resourced, or better skilled than themselves; without proper planning.
In my world; the world of business, we are always dealing with competitors. We have competitors in the various markets and countries, where we operate; we have competitors, who compete with us, across the continent, and even global competitors. We have competitors for products, for ideas, for talent….for everything we do!
Many years ago, I wrote a banner, which said, “competition is absolute…learn to live with it!”
Never forget that Luke 14:31, was spoken by the Master Himself… And if you care to look, at your bible, verse 32, shows the consequences, of poor planning, and poor judgement:
You will be embarrassed, by your opponents, if you are rash.
Now you might say, but I have faith, so why should I care? But this does not mean that you should not plan properly, before you act. Faith with wisdom, is better! Joshua knew he would win, but he still sent in the spies, to help him in his planning. Never be dismissive towards, a competitor, even if they are smaller, or appear less resourced. Look at everything. Never be emotional. Don’t rely on subjective information (here say), get accurate information, and study it carefully, and calmly.
Train yourself to do proper market research, and competitor analysis.
Enjoy the competition!
Credit: Strive Masiyiwa -Chairman, Econet Group