HARD WORK AND PREPARATION

I will now confess- my wife and I watch Britbox on television. We are enamored by British crime and political thrillers. PBS only gives us a sampling of those shows, but PBS does have a series entitled COBRA.

If you are like me and hate snakes, I can assure you that COBRA is not about snakes, at least not the reptilian kind. For those of you uninitiated with the British government (aka United Kingdom or simply, UK) COBRA stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. The Cabinet Office is somewhat akin to our Executive Office of the President with its numerous offices and personnel and COBRA itself is like our National Security Council meeting in the White House Situation Room. So, COBRA is a committee of selected government officials who meet with the prime minister in response to natural disasters, terrorism, cyber attacks, and similar emergencies affecting the UK.

Lisa Palfrey is a Welsh actress who plays Eleanor James, chair of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee, on COBRA. Palfrey has a script requiring her as James to sprout off gobs and gobs of intelligence jargon. In an interview, Palfrey admits she often does not understand most of the scripted technical words she uses so she does a lot of internet searches to ascertain what she is saying.

I find Palfrey’s confession refreshing. Here is a trained and experienced actress who admits she does the homework to be prepared and credible on camera so viewers like me will be entertained. How many leaders just “wing it” as they wade into unchartered waters, falter, and miss the objectives set out before the leader and his/her team? Let Lisa Palfrey as Eleanor James be your guide. Do the hard work and prepare for your assignments. Your supervisors will take note and your team will be appreciative,