Questions and Answers

If you would like to submit a question to author Ron Shapiro, please send an e-mail to shapiro@daretopreparebook.com.

Why write this book?
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 soley on instinct, even after all these years of teaching, lawyering, or 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 to get ready to do it. So, I try to fill in that gap here. What do you do before you start to be able to execute more effectively?

So, I hope that this book fills in the gaps left by those two estimable books. What do you do if you can’t fully rely on instinct and experience? And what do you do before you execute?

Second, I see this book as a sort of testimonial to the people I’ve been surrounded by for most of my professional and personal life. The people featured for the most part are friends, clients, colleagues, and in several cases family. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how impressive they are and what good fortune I’ve had to work with them. And I tried to come up with a common formula for their success. They are masters at what they do, and in large part that is due to the fact that they are master preparers. So I decided to use them to illustrate the preparation principles that we have been teaching at the Shapiro Negotiations Institute for years.

Do you really think people want to read about preparation? Isn’t it a rather dry topic for a book?
Preparation is the most exciting thing I do each day. I talk in the book about the satisfaction it brings me, and what we call “bliss.” Meeting with the people profiled in this book and discussing preparation with them was one of the highlights of my career. And we noticed a funny thing during most of the interviews. They grew excited and animated about the topic, too. Preparation is something very few people slow down to think about and talk about. And yet once we did just that with these people, we had some amazing conversations. I recall vividly Greg 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 saying preparation defines her. Ann Marie Tierney talking about preparation as the difference between life and death in her business of firefighting. And on and on. Far from boring, I would say.

Can you really rely on the same method to prepare for different activities?
I think so. I want to emphasize that the Preparation Principles Checklist is not a lockstep system. But if you proceed through the principles methodically, they tend to inform each other and build on one another. I am not advocating robotic adherence to a set of steps, but I do think they cover almost everything you need to think about before getting to the execution steps.

To have them on a piece of paper in front of you before you begin almost any task – in business or in daily life – calms you down and helps you collect your thoughts. The last line of the book – “it is amazing what you can discover when you dare to prepare” – was really a line that we worked to get right. Because you really do discover things – about yourself, your counterpart or client, or the task – by working through this checklist. It uncovers techniques; it triggers innovation; it links ideas; it slows you down and calms you down. All from the same method for disparate undertakings.

What is your idea of cross-training and why does reading about someone in a very different field help me improve in my own line of work?
I firmly believe that you should study people in different fields to improve your 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; about Lisa Fontenelli of Goldman Sachs breaking down complex problems into their smaller parts.

What is the best way to read this book?
First, we hope it is entertaining. So read it for the profiles of some amazing and interesting people. Second, there is a self-help element here – both for your profession and your life. I’d print out the preparation principles checklist from the book’s Appendix, read about the foundation of each principle and how they link, and then try to apply it in your job or daily life. Third, I hope that this book gives the reader a sense of solidarity with people who believe in eschewing a shortcut culture and doing things the right way. At its best, I hope the book is heartening, inspiring, consoling, and fun.