A client and I talked over coffee the other day. Actually, I had similar conversations with two separate clients, individually. They are alumni of Walkshop I, where we re-experience the day when Benjamin Harrison finished processing Major Change. On that day of finished processing, he signed up to serve in the Civil War.

The topic we discussed was about the future. Specifically, when you have the luxury of being able to see a bend in the river up ahead. You know there will be a significant change of a particular sort. It is planned or at least expected to the point of semi-planning. Both of my clients thought quite deeply and carefully on this subject. They are living it right now.

So…what do you do with the gift of a major change that you can see coming? What does it mean to have some amount of advanced notice?

I expect your first reaction is to prepare. OK. For what? And then, after you've prepared, what next?

My point is this–when you have some knowledge in advance of a major change coming, how do you use this as a gift, a precious asset? For that it exactly what it is. Many changes that we define as “major” don't come with advanced notice attached to them. They just happen out of the blue. And then you and I likely wish we would have had warning ahead of time.

I ask again–when you have the gift of advanced knowledge of a major change coming, how do you use it?