Building a Digital Future

CHAPTER 5Program Readiness

Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.

—Henry Ford

Readiness is defined as “the state of being fully prepared for something”; it is the readiness we want to cover in this chapter. However, it must be remembered that if you wait until you are 100% prepared you may never start. A wise person “never lets perfect get in the way of sufficient” and as you constantly revise your plans you should also regularly update your state of readiness across all aspects of the plan. Combining the traditional waterfall project methodology and an agile methodology helps and is explained later in this chapter.

Being ready (or ready enough) is not sufficient, however, as you also need to be willing to act. All the business leaders and entrepreneurs who have a vision and an outline plan still have to start to “do something!”

When Richard Branson (British business magnate, founder of the Virgin Group, investor, author, and philanthropist) started his first business venture, he admits to not having much of an idea and even less of a plan. What he did have was an initial vision and a readiness to start. As his ambitions grew his planning improved, but he has never lost that readiness. If you are directing a business venture of any size, you will have people you need to enthuse, educate, and encourage to come along with you. You will need to be ready and you will need to plan like Branson, whether it is a small venture or a larger venture. In this ...