Ninja Warriors
Study.
How do you prepare for life?
Borrow One Idea: Task Organize and Integrate the Force
Be prepared. One of the earliest pieces of life training drilled into young boys via the Boy Scouts.
Preparation is one of the most controllable and most easily failed tasks for individuals and organizations. What we know to be necessary and how we act upon those requirements are often two very different things. Procrastination, pride, poor assumptions and other priorities reduce our capacity to be truly prepared.
A frequent failure point in preparation is integrating new teams. The decentralization of businesses and people has increased the frequency in which teams are reconstituted. Being prepared includes the need to rapidly build common knowledge and trust in advance of the team being tested in real-life operations.
3-6. Task-organizing the force is an important part of planning. During preparation, commanders allocate time to put the new task organization into effect. This includes detaching units, moving forces, and receiving and integrating new units and Soldiers into the force. When units change task organization, they need preparation time to learn the gaining unit’s SOPs (standard operating procedures) and learn their role in the gaining unit’s plan. The gaining unit needs preparation time to assess the new unit’s capabilities and limitations and to integrate new capabilities. Properly integrating units and Soldiers into the force builds trust and improves performance in execution.
ADP 5-0, Sections 3-6, PDF page 56
This week, borrow with pride and put into action a set of activities to prepare your newest or next team. How will you task organize your team: what will be shared, how will you integrate new members, and where will you invest to build trust prior to execution?
Get Familiar With: The Operations Process - Preparation
Life actually comes with a lot of manuals. It’s not just the Boy Scouts who want you to be prepared, the entire world is structured to help you be prepared. The information required to be prepared is almost universally available. Rarely is there a good excuse not to be prepared. And yet, we frequently are unprepared.
A substantial part of the attraction of competition television is the chance to watch people either succeed impressively or fail dramatically at the same activity…an activity that looks just enough like something you or I could do if we just prepared enough.
America Ninja Warrior is the precise blend of awesome wins, spectacular crashes, and the seduction that you could prepare enough to not entirely fail if given enough time. And it is true!
While there isn’t necessarily a manual for the show, the challenges are not unknown. Individuals can training for the obstacles and body movements required to succeed. The requirements are understood, preparation is the differentiator.
As it is with most things. Even when life creates unexpected situations, the general context and requirements are typically the same. Gravity is not going to suddenly invert. Preparation is the differentiator.
In no other profession are the penalties for employing untrained personnel so appalling or so irrevocable as in the military.
General Douglas MacArthur
We aren’t preparing for war, thankfully, but there are distinct penalties for being unprepared in life or in our careers. And yet we, as humans, constantly risk these penalties by choosing to be unprepared.
3-2. Preparation helps the force transition from planning to execution. Preparation normally begins during planning and continues into execution by uncommitted units. Like the other activities of the operations process, commanders drive preparation activities with a focus on leading and assessing. The functions of preparation include the following:
Improve situational understanding.
Develop a common understanding of the plan.
Train and become proficient on critical tasks.
Task-organize and integrate the force.
Ensure forces and resources are positioned.
ADP 5-0, Sections 3-2, PDF page 55
You know how it feels in you gut when you enter a situation unprepared.
How should you prepare for life?
The Guided Discovery for this week will explore the activities related to Preparation (within the Operations Process) and the importance of being ‘hands-on’ as a prepared leader.
Learn More: Suggested Reading
ADP 5-0, The Operations Process
Pages 3-1 through 3-9 based on printed document (PDF pages 55-63)
An overview of the fundamentals and priorities in preparation for the Operations Process
These materials will be the focus of Thursday’s Guided Discovery
Catch Up: Last Week’s Content
Study: Centers of Gravity
Guided Discovery: The Operations Process - Planning
Always be asking:
1. What is the connection with my leadership development?
2. How does this change my thinking on management?
3. How does this influence planning for life?
4. What can I borrow with pride to use this week?