Passion, vision, ideas, dreams, the future; this is the language of leadership. It is a leader's job to provide vision for what is possible, to create direction and momentum in its pursuit and to instil a belief amongst their followers that it can be reached.

However, leaders must be careful that they don't run before they can walk and get so passionate about where they are heading that they don't plan and prepare how they are going to get there. Indeed, it's been said that, 'If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.'

For many, planning and preparation is not an attractive prospect. Children that receive a new toy do not like to sit down and go through the instruction manual first. They want to get on and play the game. But this sort of mentality can be costly in leadership. Envisioned leaders that undervalue and neglect the role of planning in pursuing their vision, are shortsighted, because they are not preparing themselves for the fact that conditions can change and factors beyond their control can impact their work.

The action taken by Rudolph Giuliani, during the terrible events of last September in New York demonstrates the vital role of preparation. Giuliani writes, 'We had never anticipated that day, but had anticipated almost everything else. In my seven-and-three-quarter years in office, we had done about a dozen drills for plane crashes, nuclear bombing, and gas attacks with our top commanders. It was those things that helped us through the aftermath of the World Trade Center. In the days following September 11, I can't tell you how thankful I was for doing all of those drills. What many people thought was an instinctual response was really very heavily orchestrated, because of the things we had done before.' Giuliani's administration coordinated an exceptional response to an exceptional tragedy. He is a leader that understands the essential role of planning in leadership.

Of course, leaders need to work hard at creating a healthy balance between passion and planning as there is a danger of operating too much at either extreme. 100% passion and no grasp on reality will ultimately switch people off from their leader and cause disillusionment amongst the team. Similarly, too much focus on the planning processes also risks disillusionment, as it invariably inhibits movement, stifles creativity, encourages bureaucracy and breeds a culture of control.

Leaders have a fine line to tread in this area, but those who invest the time in valuing both passion and planning are far better placed to create and achieve long-term success than those who just want to run the race and win without an ounce of training.

Phil Wall
CEO