Preparation Breeds Confidence. Confidence Breeds Success.

It's almost a truism. "The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win." That quote has been attributed to Vince Lombardi, Joe Paterno, Bobby Knight and almost every other great sports coach that ever tried to get their team to practice.

It's true in sports. It's true in business. It's especially true in onboarding. There's a huge difference between those that get prepared, get a head start before their first day and those that wait. It's been a big part of the impact of our 100-day executive onboarding service.  It's the main driver of our live onboarding preparation workshops. It's the reason we launched www.NewJobPrep.com, providing a self-managed, online program to help new managers at any level prepare in advance of starting a new role.

Whether you're moving into a new role yourself or helping somebody else, invest in preparation.

Read More Articles

Professional reviewing charts and financial reports at a meeting table, writing notes on documents with graphs, data visuals, and sticky notes.
A Good Acquisition Story Is Not a Plan.

When Wolf-Gordon announced it was buying Andor Willow and Look Walls and Interiors, the logic behind the acquisition was easy to read. The private equity owner, Charger Investment Partners, wants…

Read Article
Three Leadership Questions to Answer Before Green-lighting a Project

Many tactical projects fail before they start because leaders green-light the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Before you say “yes,” to a project, you and your team should answer…

Read Article
Two martial man engaging in a judo combat
Deploying Judo Strategy To Throw A Stronger Business Competitor

In judo, you do not try to overpower a stronger opponent. You accept their strength, side-step their thrust, and use their weight and momentum to throw them. My earlier article,…

Read Article
A rugged expedition vehicle drives along a long, empty road toward lush mountains under a dramatic sky.
Deliberately Stupid Executive Onboarding

Every executive walking into a new role is, for a while, stupid. Not incapable. Not unqualified. Stupid in the specific, unavoidable sense that they do not yet know what they…

Read Article
A group of executives in a meeting, getting to know each other and working together.
Succeeding Your Own Boss

There's a version of executive onboarding that almost never gets written about, probably because it looks so easy from the outside. Whether it’s the CFO succeeding the CEO, or the…

Read Article
Functional Leader Onboarding: Converge Before You Evolve

The fastest way for a new functional or operational leader to fail is to start changing the team before becoming part of it. The better sequence is simpler and harder: converge first,…

Read Article