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Know More Than Is Expected

Much like preparing for a final exam in high school or a comprehensive exam in college, you should go into any test knowing more than will be asked of you. It’s not about outsmarting the teacher; it’s about being ready to deliver the intellectual goods.

This is especially true in the workplace. Anticipate what is needed; know more than what is expected. Pay attention over time to the kinds of questions being asked or the types of issues being discussed around the office. Be alert and aware so that you can pass those tests along the way, even the pop quizzes, one of which I failed one day.

Even for the Pentagon, the room was cavernous. It looked out onto the Tidal Basin and the Washington Monument. As the world’s largest and longest office building—at that time with some 25,000 employees occupying offices along 17.5 miles of corridor—it had lots of important occupants.

I found myself on that fall afternoon sitting next to one of them, General John A. Wickham, Jr., the thirty-first U.S. Army chief of staff. The four-star general was being prepped for an upcoming press interview that in large part was my doing because I had recommended it, but the larger part of my responsibility was to help manage the outcome.

Sitting around the table were a half dozen general officers, another colonel, and myself. Subject-matter experts in everything from operational matters to logistical considerations, the two- and three-star generals were savvy in their respective fields and had come armed with data. They appeared confident and prepared for any question the chief might have.

Having advocated that the chief, as the senior uniformed officer in the army, be more aggressive in telling the army’s story to stakeholders, I was pleased with the moment, for he was being prepped for a press interview the next day with a defense reporter from the Washington Post.

The staff members around the table were preparing him well. That was the case until the conversation shifted to whether one of General Wickham’s initiatives might come up during the interview. He had recently decided that every soldier would identify with a unit in which he or she had served by wearing the crest of that unit on his or her uniform. The objective was to instill in the post-Vietnam generation a sense of purpose with a prideful allegiance to a unit of choice.

My battalion at Fort Carson, Colorado, in 1978–1979, the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, was my unit of choice. It had a rich history and tradition. I wore that unit’s crest proudly on my uniform.

Midway through the discussion of the various issues that might be discussed in the interview, General Wickham turned to me and asked if his pet-rock unit designation scheme might come up. “Doubt it, sir,” I said.

To optimize the mood of the moment, he asked me what my regimental designation was. After I told him, he asked the teachable moment question as he surveyed the crest I was wearing above my uniform pocket.

“What’s the red, white, and blue on your crest stand for?” the general asked. An unforgettable memory as I stammered through my best guess, as opposed to what I should have known for certain.

“Actually,” said the chief, “the white signifies purity, the red hardiness and valor, the blue vigilance, perseverance, and justice.” Good deductive reasoning would have served me better than what I had given him, but what I got in return was a “listen and learn” lesson.

Clearly I had been thinking more about the peaks than the valleys with respect to issues. It’s the entire landscape that counts.

As I left this historic office that had been occupied by the likes of Generals John Pershing, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Matthew Ridgway, Maxwell Taylor, and William Westmoreland, I sensed that a takeaway lesson of life was to always think beyond the moment, that is, to consider what can or will happen next. We can or should plan for anything at any time, and that certainly includes satisfying the boss’s questions or needs as they arise.

Back in my office I promised myself that from that point forward I’d prepare better both myself and my boss for the everything and anything in life. I would try always to know more than what was expected.

As the chief of media relations for the army at the time, I needed to know a lot about a lot of things. I began to construct my thoughts and actions in a way that allowed me, indeed forced me, to think beyond the horizon.

I vowed to anticipate the many things for me and my boss that could not only survive the moment but conquer the moment with my best advice and counsel. The boss may not ask for or expect it, I thought, but he surely needs and deserves it.

That doesn’t happen by luck or by chance. It occurs because you acquire the knowledge. Become a consumer of information. Read for purpose and pleasure. Have an appetite for the news, both print and broadcast. Read at least two newspapers a day, local and national editions. Watch the local and national news on television. Listen to National Public Radio. Subscribe to industry publications. Attend conferences and workshops. Stay on top of things going on in the community, the business world, and the world at large. Simply know more than is expected. You’ll be glad you did.