It depends…
Is this being ready to perform heart surgery (probably not unless you’ve undergone nine years of training) or to take your next step? To stand up and speak or do something you know is important when everyone else is sitting down.
To begin.
It also depends on why you’re asking.
Is it a let-out clause so you don’t have to step into the uncomfortable, uncertain space where you might fail?
Yes, we do need to do the prep: the thinking, listening, testing and planning. Enough. But not 100%, because that never comes. We’re not fine-tuning a machine operating in a vacuum. And most of the time we can only learn by doing.
For most of us being ready is more about internal preparedness than the externals.
So are you ready?
And now the big question: for whom?
…because it’s never about what…