Trials are about winning; otherwise we wouldn’t wait around for the verdicts. Winning results from the strategic advantages that come with preparation. This tralatitious wisdom of the ages bears on all human endeavors. It has been taught by legendary military strategists. (“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” –Sun Tzu). It has been the well-known secret of our most storied athletes. (“Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.” –Nadia Comaneci). And it is has been at the core of a simple, elegant motto for some 111 million American youths. (“Be prepared.” –Boy Scouts of America).
But for all its history, it is perhaps the least heeded principle of success. For never is its perfect truth more apparent than in hindsight. Each of us is an expert in what we should have done.
