Be Professionally Prepared in the Era of the Impostor

A challenging moment was approaching in his life.

Professionally, he was about to be interviewed by the American Congress on a number of very difficult subjects. He was Admiral American Hyman Rickover.

Legend has it that an American Congressman asked the Admiral:

“How did you prepare for the interview?”

And the Admiral replied:

“I shaved and put on a new shirt!”

The answer may seem superficial. In fact, it’s about a deeply profound philosophy of “preparation.”

Admiral Rickover was already prepared because he knew his job inside out, knew everything that was happening in his department and lived and breathed what he did. He didn’t need to prepare specially for an event like this.

Hyman Rickover is known for personally interviewing over 10,000 people for the “nuclear navy.” He believed he had to carefully select every person who would work for him, so in interviews, he often tested their character and how they reacted under pressure.

There were times when he would put candidates in chairs with shorter front legs just to see how they handled the interview while being uncomfortable and continuously slipping under the table.