Clear and conscientious planning is crucial to success in any business venture. Obviously it would be foolish to blindly run into the fray without preparing at least a little bit. That’s a given.

But where I see a problem is when we are overly careful and systematic. We over plan and over think and over prepare. We spend all of our time preparing and not enough time doing. But there comes a time when the rubber meets the road—when we have to pull the trigger. We must take action.

You develop your site, print your business cards, draft your mission statement, and fine-tune your elevator pitch. These are all great things to do and can increase your odds for success.

But there is a caveat: You have to be okay with throwing them all out the window.

Because at some point you have to interact with your client. German Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” Your plan needs to be flexible and agile enough to cope with the inevitable circumstances you could not account for.

So, remember to plan. Take massive action. But more importantly, go with the flow.

To your good fortune!