Leadership and the Art of Being Prepared

“Be Prepared... the meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previously thinking out and practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise.”

                                                                                                    - Robert Baden-Powell

Although I never made it beyond Cub Scouts in Mrs. Larson’s Den in elementary school, I have always admired the scouts' motto “Be Prepared”.  I have come to believe in leadership that being adequately prepared can be the difference between breaking through obstacles and simply letting them overtake us as we revert to old and familiar behaviors. 

One thing I know is when we are up to big things in our lives and our organizations, it is inevitable that we will come upon challenges.  It has been my experience that the bigger the endeavor, the bigger the challenges that present themselves. 

I believe it is also correct to assume that those who experience the success and satisfaction of achieving big things, don’t do so because of the lack of challenge.  They experience their victories despite the challenges and have a plan to handle potential difficulties before they arrive. 

This reminds me of a story early in my professional career.

My first job out of college was with consumer products giant, Procter & Gamble.  I look back fondly on those years as they became the basis for me learning so many valuable lessons that served me later in my career.  Although the work was challenging, there were also many benefits and rich experiences that came with working for a such a large corporation.

One such experience came when I was just beginning my work as a new Unit Manager in the Los Angeles District of Beauty Care Sales (yes, I sold shampoo, deodorant and hand lotion for a living).  Each year, P&G sponsored a promotional event in conjunction with the Miss USA pageant. 

This meant that the reigning Miss USA would come to our market each year to visit our customers and ask for their support for our upcoming promotional event.  Being the “new kid on the block”, I was given the responsibility to organize these annual visits and escort Miss USA and her chaperone across Los Angeles over the course of my four years in Southern California (I know, not a bad gig.)

On one visit, we were blessed to have Miss USA, 1987, Michelle Royer join us.  After a morning of calling on customers, where she amazed our clients with her beauty, passion and charm and had secured their full promotional support, it was time to break for lunch and celebrate our success. 

It was during this lunch, at a swanky Orange County restaurant, that I learned from the reigning Miss USA, in an unusual way, an incredible lesson for how to smartly prepare for challenges and enact a plan for when they arrived.

As you might imagine, at lunch, Miss USA ordered a very health salad, which she ate in measured and dignified bites while she, her chaperone and various members of our sales team participated in light and enjoyable conversation. 

At the end of our meal, the waiter came and asked if anyone wanted dessert.  While my workmates and I declined, the only national beauty queen at the table did not.  To our surprise, she ordered not just dessert, but the largest, most calorie-rich item on the menu – the mud pie. 

Minutes later, the waiter returned with a 7-inch monstrosity of extreme chocolate ice cream decadence and set it proudly in front of our esteemed guest.   We all sat with our eyes wide as Miss USA and her chaperone took hold of their dessert forks and began their quest to embark upon the culinary challenge before them. 

Our beauty queen took her first bite and visibly relished the experience.  Then, she took her second with her chaperone soon joining in for her first taste.  

After her third bite, something amazing happened.  Soon after she completed her third forkful, she looked around the table and generously offered each member of the sales team a bite.  We politely declined.  Then, she looked at me and as asked if I would pass her the salt. I quickly obliged and handed her the shaker. 

What she did next would blow my mind.

With the saltshaker in hand, she began to vigorously shake salt all over the remaining mud pie.  In noticing the reaction of shock on each of our faces, she smiled and chuckled saying, “Now with all of that salt on it, I can’t eat it.”

Years later I would realize that Miss USA had simply applied a strategy that was not just reserved for beauty queens looking to maintain their weight, but a method that can use as leaders to create plans for overcoming obstacles before they arise. 

She had masterly demonstrated what I would later learn from reading author, Gabrielle Oettingen’s book, Rethinking Positive Thinking, the concept of W.O.O.P. 

W.O.O.P. is a four-step process for creating a plan of action for obstacles before they arise, so when you do, they can be handled, keeping us on track towards our intended desires.  In this theory, Oettingen surmises that most fail not because they don't have a vision or a plan for success, it's that they don't have a plan for dealing with obstacles to the vision or plan when they arise. 

It works like this.

• Wish - What is your wish for what you want to attract into your life/business? (Miss USA wished to enjoy the experience of eating mud pie.)
• Outcome - What would the outcome be if you achieved this wish? (She would enjoy the pie, but only take a few bites, to avoid overeating.)
• Obstacle - What is the obstacle that may present itself that would prevent you from getting what you desire? (The obstacle was her desire to eat more of the mud pie than she had intended.)
• Plan - Probably the most important part of this process, what is your plan for dealing with the obstacle? (Using salt to make the dessert undesirable was her plan to stop her from the obstacle eating more of the mud pie than she had intended.)

Identifying possible obstacles in advance and having a plan for how to deal with them when/if they do arrive, allows us to continue moving forward in the direction of our desire, rather than becoming derailed due to not knowing how to deal with those challenges.

This week, I encourage all of us to identify a place where establishing a W.O.O.P. Plan could serve us in keeping on as track as leaders with our desired goals and intentions. 

Who knows, at the very least, it might keep you from eating too much dessert.

Chris Natzke

Black Belt Leadership Speaking & Coaching

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