I recently came across a tweet that attributed this fascinating line to Napoleon.

They asked him, “Sir, what is your next plan?”

Napoleon apparently replied, “I act, and the plan emerges from my action.”

It’s not important whether Napoleon said these exact words or not, there is an extraordinary lesson here for every MFD trying to grow a business.

We often believe clarity must come before action. First, I need the perfect growth strategy. Then I will hire. First, I need to understand exactly how the new office will work. Then I will expand. 

We keep thinking, discussing, analyzing and preparing. However, business clarity rarely comes completely from the conference room.

Some answers become visible only after you start moving.

You hire the first person and discover what kind of team you really need. You conduct ten prospect meetings and understand what clients respond to. You delegate something and discover where your processes are weak. You start creating content and slowly discover your voice. You collaborate with a world class platform and learn things no workshop, credential, or conference could have taught you.

Action creates information. This new information improves the next action. This does not mean acting recklessly or abandoning strategy. Napoleon’s insight, interpreted wisely, is not “Don’t plan.”

It is “Don’t expect planning to eliminate uncertainty before you begin.”

There comes a point when another spreadsheet, another meeting and another month of thinking add almost nothing.

You must move.

Clarity is not always something you find before the journey begins. Sometimes clarity is the reward for beginning the journey.

The MFD who keeps waiting for the perfect plan may eventually discover something uncomfortable. The imperfect competitor who started three years ago is now three years ahead.

Think enough to begin intelligently. Then act, learn, adapt and act again.

Sometimes the plan is waiting for you inside the action.