“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln
Bill McLaren, known as the Voice of Rugby during his five decades of commentating for the BBC, took preparation to a whole new level.
He left a legacy of over 700 ‘Big Sheets’ – his preparation system that started with a blank template sheet that he would then handwrite in coloured ink new information, and copy and paste names and details from previous games while continuing to update his records.
His habit of spending the evening before a game mixing a pack of 15 amended playing cards, turning them over and linking the number to each player’s name until he whistled through the pack, all contributed to his reputation as the ‘go to oracle.’
His preparation included forty hours preparing for each match and his homework would include visiting both teams in training as well as his commentary notes in his Big Sheets.
‘Big Sheet’ your own preparation
Nowadays at work we tend to fly in and out of back to back meetings and presentations with hardly a moment to capture our breath, let alone our thoughts.
How beneficial would it be if we could build in preparation time to gather our thoughts, our facts, our case, and to ensure our focus is spot on?
What could you and your teams do to create a preparation habit that took your performance to the next level, that increased your communication, clarity and collaboration?
How much better would you handle those inflection points, those critical moments and opportunities if you prepared to the point that you knew your team, stakeholders and projects back to front?
(Photo credit – one of Bill McLaren’s Big Sheets exhibited at Bowhill House, Selkirk, Scotland)