Ettus
Photo Courtesy Samantha Ettus
In The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2004), Samantha Ettus (MBA ’01) set out to write “a CliffsNotes for life.” Ettus, who is the founder and president of the talent and brand-management firm Ettus Media Management, is now at work on a guide to life at home. She invites HBS advice givers or seekers to visit her Web site at www.theexpertsguideto.com.
Is there less intergenerational teaching in society today?
Yes. Many of the topics in The Experts’ Guide are things people used to learn when they spent more time with stay-at-home parents or grandparents. I missed out on a lot of those lessons on my way to adulthood, and when I started doing research for the book, I discovered a world of people who felt the same way.
How did you decide which topics to discuss in the book?
Over a six-month period, I polled everyone I met — friends, relatives, colleagues, people sitting next to me on airplanes — to determine what skills people most wanted to master. We all like to think we’re so different, but I was amazed to find during my research how often the same topics were mentioned.
What was the hardest part of writing the book?
Definitely matching experts and topics. It wasn’t just a matter of choosing people with expertise; it was also finding those who could deliver the information in 600 words and make it readable, fun, and informative. Some of the obvious choices had written books on their topics, but I also looked for practical expertise. Who has more experience with snow removal than the mayor of Buffalo, New York, for instance? Who has changed more diapers than the parents of sextuplets?
So the experts actually wrote their own chapters?
I was adamant about that. I wanted the voices and personalities of these people to come through. Donald Trump’s prose style in the chapter on negotiation is very short and terse, whereas Ira Glass’s chapter on storytelling is a little self-deprecating and understated.
What was the most useful information you learned in researching this book?
Oh, I discovered many things. For example, I learned that refrigerating coffee beans makes them lose their flavor, so I’ve stopped doing that. And now, I wash my hands for the length of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice through, as recommended by the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Were there any topics that you had to omit that you wish you could have covered?
There was a chapter on how to fall in love, which I really wanted to include, but my editor thought it was too subjective.
— Deborah E. Blagg
