Preparing for Opportunity

Opportunity is often described as something that appears. 

In my experience, the better opportunities are usually earned long before they become visible. 

A new market opens. A customer suddenly needs help. A competitor exits. A project moves forward faster than expected. 

From the outside, it can look like someone was simply in the right place at the right time. 

Sometimes they were. 

But being in the right place only matters if you are ready to act.

Do you have the capacity? 

Do you have people who can take on more? 

Have you built credibility with the people who may someday need what you do? 

Can you commit resources without putting the rest of the organization at risk? 

Those things cannot always be created after the opportunity arrives. 

The organizations best positioned to take advantage of opportunity are usually doing the work beforehand. 

They are strengthening capabilities. 

Developing people.

Maintaining relationships. 

Understanding where their markets are moving. 

And preserving enough flexibility to move when circumstances change. 

None of that guarantees an opportunity will appear. 

But when one does, there can be a significant difference between recognizing it and actually being able to pursue it. 

Opportunity may arrive unexpectedly. 

Readiness rarely does.