• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

YouthActionNet Global Fellowship Day 0: The "best" and "better" plans

Published: Saturday, 01 October 2011

A month ago, I came up with a list of the things I wanted to consider during my YouthActionNet Fellowship retreat.  In the 24 hours that it took me to fly and transit to Mexico, I've already come up with a solution for all 10 points.

My rationale behind it is that if I'm going to be spending a week talking to 20-odd people about all these issues, the best way I can prepare is to come with an already executable plan mapped out to build upon... or to completely tear down and rework.

Just by coming up with a "best plan" means that I already needed to think through a number of scenarios and justify to myself why some of them won't work, whereas others may stick; which puts me in a very strong position to answer heaps of questions about all those points, as well as quickly recognise what I don't know about those areas.

My plan I've created is the "best plan" I could have created with all the knowledge that I knew at the time...  Which means that there could still exist a "better plan" that can be created through the addition of knowledge that I currently don't know.

I think it's important to come up with a "best plan" by yourself before asking others for suggestions to help you create a "better plan", as it shows your commitment to the project, shows that you've done some research, and shows that you've thought things through.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • How I manage

    For one of the projects I’ve been leading for over the past 2.5 years, I manage a team of 20 people remotely. I meet with all of my direct reports...

  • Are you a champion?

    Do you take a bold stand in how things are going to turn out? Do you take responsibility for your actions? Do you have an empowering context for...

  • Brain-controlled Teleport

    I was invited to demonstrate my robots on a QANTAS flight from Sydney to San Francisco, while we flew over the Pacific Ocean.  I said yes!  My fellow...

  • The meaning of no

    No doesn't mean… I hate you. You suck. Your project is stupid. You're not good enough. You're wasting your time on your project. You should be...

  • Cairns Eye

    Returning to my hometown Cairns is always relaxing.  Returning to Cairns in winter is a luxury - because the weather is lovely, and not cold at all....

  • How to choose your projects

    Ask yourself: 1.  What do I want to learn? 2. What do I already know? Then: 3.  Devise a project you’re interested in that involves others - Create a...

  • Choose

    When I was in my final year of high school, my family couldn't afford to send me to university, so I looked for scholarships that would enable me to...

  • Questacon

    Gave a speech for IPAA ACT to 280 people at the CEOs and Young Professionals Network Breakfast.  It was a delight to find my friends at Questacon had a...

  • GEDC Diversity Award

    I was awarded the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) Diversity Award for my work with Robogals.  It was sponsored by Airbus.  Here is a photo of...

  • Manufacturing Leadership Summit, Grand Rapids Michigan

    After a long pandemic hiatus from giving speeches in person, I was invited to be the in-person keynote speaker at The Right Place’s Manufacturing...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top