The other night, I picked up my son from school. He had been volunteering with the orchestra, wearing a short-sleeve shirt like it was the middle of July. Me? I had on a jacket because it was chilly. As soon as he got in the car, he looked at me like I’d committed some great parental sin. “Why are you wearing a jacket? It’s not that cold,” he said, laughing. Kids have this uncanny ability to make you question your every move. Was I overreacting? Getting old? Maybe.
But the temperature doesn’t lie, and the night proved me right. By morning, he was feeling awful, stomachache, diarrhea, the works. I didn’t even need to say, “I told you so.” Instead, I simply said, “Care is better than cure.” He nodded. Lesson learned.
This isn’t just about jackets and cold nights. It’s about how we prepare for what’s next, whether we think we need to or not. We live in a world where most people wait for the problem before looking for the solution. We see it in businesses all the time. A cybersecurity breach forces a company to invest in better IT infrastructure. A sudden drop in sales has leaders scrambling to revise their strategy. It’s human nature to resist action until it’s absolutely necessary.
But here’s the thing: The cost of prevention is almost always lower than the cost of reaction. According to a report by the Harvard Business Review, companies that invest in proactive employee training see a 21% higher profitability compared to those that don’t. Think about that. Preparing your team ahead of time doesn’t just save you headaches; it makes you more money.
That moment with my son reminded me that leadership, at its core, is about foresight. It’s about putting on the jacket before the cold hits, even if everyone around you thinks you’re being dramatic. For business owners, this means planning for risks you hope never come. For employees, it means learning skills that might not seem necessary yet. Build a culture of preparation. Train your team. Run drills. Prepare for the unexpected. Look at market trends like they’re the weather forecast. When the skies look gray, it’s not paranoia to grab an umbrella, it’s smart.
My son learned his lesson the hard way. Businesses don’t have to. And neither do you. The next time you think, “It’s not that cold,” ask yourself if that’s your comfort talking. Because the cold always comes, whether it’s a downturn in the market, a missed opportunity, or a client’s trust that takes years to rebuild. Care is better than cure. And proactive beats reactive. Every single time. So grab your jacket. You might just thank yourself later.
Because business, like parenting, is often about making the hard decisions today to avoid the harder consequences tomorrow.
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