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A Preparation Checklist for Success
February 19, 2008
Q&A with author Ron Shapiro
Training magazine presents an in-depth look at "Dare to Prepare: How To Win Before You Begin" and its author, Ron Shapiro.
Q: How can reading "Dare to Prepare: How To Win Before You Begin" help me?
A: It offers a methodical approach—a simple checklist that can be used to prepare for nearly any undertaking in business or life. Whether you are facing a job change, divorce, sales dilemma, contract negotiation, or neighbor dispute, the [book's] Preparation Checklist applies. The book provides examples of 38 amazing people to illuminate and enliven each of the steps. Reading about the steps, and their practicioners, will help you re-think how you get ready to do something. And that can make all the difference in how effectively it gets done.
Q: Why write this book?
A: First, it was inspired by to two books I read recently—Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink," and Larry Bossidy's "Execution." I love Gladwell, but just didn't see myself in "Blink." I can't rely solely on instinct, even after all these years of teaching, lawyering, and negotiating contracts. I need to prepare more methodically than some of the people profiled in "Blink." "Execution" prescribed a system to do something, but not how to get ready to do it. So, I try to fill in that gap. What do you do before you start to be able to execute more effectively? What do you do if you can't fully rely on instinct and experience?
Q: Why did you choose to write this book now?
A: Apart from having been engaged by those two books, a cascade of current events forced me to think about preparation in our culture. A poor plan for state-building in Iraq after the invasion, a sub-prime loan crisis that could have been avoided with proper preparation—these, and other current events, made me wonder why the preparation ethic seems to be waning. At the same time, I look at what the pilot's checklist has done to transform the safety of the airline industry; I look at the application of that checklist in hospitals, and the consequent reduction in infection rates; and I realize that, yes, something as simple as a replicable method can transform whole industries and save lives.
Q: What is your idea of "cross-training," and why does reading about someone in a different field help me improve in my own line of work?
A: I firmly believe you should study people in different fields to improve performance in your own. Cross-training, of course, is a phrase that comes from athletics. Swimmers build different muscle sets and better endurance by running, or more flexibility through yoga. Football players improve their agility and reactions by training as boxers. The same logic applies to any profession. I improve as an executive and negotiator by reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln. You can do the same by reading about Willie Randolph learning from his string of interviews to become a manager; about Wendy Webster managing an incredibly complex store opening; about Bob Parker re-inventing his profession of wine criticism; or about Lisa Fontenelli of Goldman Sachs breaking down complex problems into their smaller parts.
Q: Do you really think people want to read about preparation? Isn't it a rather dry topic for a book?
A: Preparation is the most exciting thing I do each day. I talk in the book about the satisfaction it brings me. Meeting with the people profiled in this book, and discussing preparation with them, was a highlight of my career. We noticed a funny thing during most of the interviews. [Our subjects] grew excited and animated about the topic, too. Preparation is something few people slow down to think and talk about. Yet once we did just that with these people, we had some amazing conversations. I recall vividly [co-author] Greg [Jordan] and I having lunch with Bob Costas in the Hudson Hotel, and he talked about preparation with an enthusiasm and insight that we marveled at. Then there was Taylor Branch holding his head in his hands as he analyzed his preparation process. Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky says preparation defines her, and Ann Marie Tierney talks about preparation as the difference between life and death in her business of firefighting. Far from boring, I would say.
Editor's Note: For more on scripting best practices, read Ron Shaprio's article, "Scripting for Success," at Trainingmag.com.
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