Crouch, Touch, Pause...Engage!

I spent a day at Warrington Wolves stadium this week - I know, Rugby is not a sport in the Olympics, but read on and you'll understand why...

While I was at this Rugby League ground because the company I work for were using their meeting rooms to host an all-dayer to preach to the foot soldiers like myself I couldn't help but think of the wisdom issued by referee's prior to scrums in their rival sport, Rugby Union...

I'm not going to use this as a forum to debate the merits of League vs Union or vice versa, all I'm saying is that the strategy voiced in Union's four words: Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage, cannot be overlooked for its simplicity and greatness.

Crouch: Prepare yourself.

We've all heard the old adage 'Failure to Prepare, is Preparation for Failure' - surely not a truer statement has ever been made?!

When was the last time you charged into a situation without thinking about it first and come out with a 100% successful conclusion?

Touch: Confirm your position.

Know where you stand and how you fit in to the area where you want to gain success.

When you research a subject you should also look to research yourself; What factors are required of your chosen field? Which attributes do you have that suit these factors?

Pause: Check your information, then check it again.

Think through your plan of attack, is the information you've referenced to form your strategy complete? Is it correct? (never rely on just 1 source for information).

Engage: Go for it!

With the other steps adhered to you're now best equipped for success - but if you do fail use the lessons you've learned to plan your attempt...true success is born of the lessons learned from failure!

Righto, enough preaching from me - back to the fun and sport and meetings of interesting peoples...