In the June 7th New York Times there was an interview with Clarence Otis Jr., CEO of Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden & Capital Grille - talk about diversity!)that I found intriguing because of his answers to 2 questions:

1 - Good piece of advice given: it's not about planning...it's about preparation & skill building - this gives the resilience everyone needs to recover from the inevitable mistakes they will make. 

This is the essence of thriving in the WorkQuake(TM) of the Knowledge Economy! 

2 - The importance of communication from the top dog - how amplied everything a leader says/does becomes - which requires intentional communications that eliminates the possibility that a random thought dismissed a moment after it was uttered becomes a directive.

Intentional Communications is essential to organizational success. I'm reminded of a story about Lenin immediately after the Russian Revolution.  He was given a list of names and he put a check by over half the names and handed the list back to his aide.  Those with a check by their names were immediately taken out and shot.  The next morning he was told the executions had been accomplished and was surprised - the names he had checked were to be given a medal for service to the Revolution.

Can your organization afford the price of poor preparation and inadequate communciations?