Talking on Squawk: Part 1 By James J. Cramer 6/5/01 1:22 PM ET

Click here for the latest from James J. Cramer.

Getting ready for an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" requires a serious time commitment, if you are going to be able to contribute anything to that great show. Tonight, after the close, I will be scrambling, looking for insights and questions for the companies that will be on Squawk with Mark Haines and me on Wednesday. I don't know what companies they are going to be until after the close, a condition I like so that I won't put on any positions because of Squawk and abuse the privilege. (This is a practice I adhered to rigorously when I was at Cramer Berk, but it is still important now that I am running my own money.)

Related Stories

The Performance Chase

Time for an Oil Change

If Warren Buffett Were on the Web...

So, let's play out the drill, using the last time I was on Squawk as an example. On the eve of the show, Jeannie Cullen, my associate, gave me a list: Nvidia (NVDA:Nasdaq - news - boards), Donaldson (DCI:NYSE - news - boards), Sunrise Assisted Living (SRZ:NYSE - news - boards), Medtronic (MDT:Nasdaq - news - boards), Ericsson (ERICY:Nasdaq ADR - news - boards) and Intuit (INTU:Nasdaq - news - boards). I then asked her to round up any Wall Street research she could find about these companies, plus any important news notes, particularly if the companies had recently reported. I want any profiles of the companies or any significant news items.

Most of the time, the companies are due to report, and, because of the special nature of Squawk, with its call on the top CEOs, I suspect that I will have to wing the questions once I have seen the quarters, but if I have done homework, it is a lot easier. I then take that information home and read about the companies that night before I go to bed. I set the alarm for my old time, from before I quit the hedge fund -- not that I ever needed an alarm back then, because I was so nerve-wracked -- and I go to sleep early, so I am not tired for Squawk.

The next morning, I read all of the papers online and then get driven to the Red Oak diner, a 24-hour coffee shop across the street from CNBC's studios in Fort Lee, N.J. I go back over the research and I look for questions to ask for each company. I try to have three questions for each, in case we have a lot of time and we need to get into something meaty. I am typically looking for areas of weakness if the company reported a weaker quarter recently, and for areas of strength at those companies that seem to be doing well. I am not into trying to knock the good companies for the sake of trying to knock them, but instead am approaching the exercise as if I might want to buy the common stock. I want to see if the execs can handle tough questions though, because business is tough.

I also try to come up with "macro" questions that answer whether the tone of business is good, and what the outlook is for orders, inflation, supply and demand -- all of the variables that you should care about if you own stocks. If there is time left after I have eaten my egg-white omelette, plain rye toast, cup of coffee and small glass of orange juice, I go back over the stock tables, just perusing prices and jotting down significant price action. Of course, I have a real luxury other guests don't, in that I know my market outlook and what stocks I like by virtue of what I write every day on this site. Still, I distill three bullet points of my viewpoint, and three stocks that fit into my thesis that I am buying.

Editor's note: This is the first installment of a three-part article. Be sure to read Part 2 and Part 3 ! And don't forget to watch Cramer on "Squawk Box" Wednesday morning!

ONLINE INVESTING Get a FREE Handspring™ Visor™ from CSFBdirect. CREDIT CARD NextCard Visa APRs as low as 2.99% Intro! Click NOW to apply BANKING Get a $50 bonus from NetBank.