If I didn't have a dime ....

And I didn't take the time to play the jukebox, Gene Pitney's lament to love discovered on a Saturday night, has interesting overtones and analogies to business today and making sure you are prepared and in the right place to take advantage of opportunities that may come your way. Being in the right place and being prepared are the hallmarks of good business acumen but how do you go about being prepared and knowing where the right places are?

Is an MBA a guarantee of knowledge, of knowing, of being prepared? Not by itself of course but as part of a package you sure cant go wrong if you have the maximum amount of learning at your disposal. Having said that, learning is not about higher tertiary qualifications, learning is about your capacity for openness and acceptance of ideas that may not "float your boat" or "rock your world". Being prepared is about building on your skill set, having the motivation to dig deeper than your competitors and realising there is no end to the preparation. For many, the mistake is thinking graduation, course completion and the end of projects is all you need, for others there is no finish line and everything they do is in preparation for opportunities. The question you continually need to ask, is which are you?

So you set your course, you learn continuously, you stay open to new ideas but how do you put yourself in a position to be in the right place at the right time for the opportunities you have prepared for? Like learning and new ideas finding the right people that can help you, mentor you and guide you means getting out of your comfort zone. It means opening yourself up to others, other than your small circle of influence and safety. It means going out of your way to meet people in circles you may think have nothing to do with your end game. You can't prepare and ready yourself for the next level on the business ladder by working in a silo environment. Leave your ego at the front door and find the people more intelligent and capable than yourself and you have a good recipe for your mix of preparation and being in the right spot. Your supporters, mentors, colleagues, will find the right spot and when get there, you'll have the "dime" to play the "jukebox". You just need to put the coin in the slot.

Okay so the decision analogy maybe a bit thin but the final scenario in all of this effort is about your mental state and self worth that has hopefully been built from your learnings, your openness and preparation and the support and guidance of people around you. The idea isn't to build and prepare yourself for monumental decisions way in the future but to have the ability on a daily basis to play the jukebox with a pocket full of dimes, always ready to embrace the opportunity. Gene Pitney, wherever you are, I hope you're okay with this?