When the Going Gets Tough…What do you do?
Another year is about to wrap up. Was it good for your business?
If so, can you point to what it was that made this year a success? If not, is the deficiency as clear as mud?
No matter what business you are in, it is a guarantee (absolute) that not every day will be a winner. Similar to every other part of our lives, business is fluid and with that comes bountiful times where every effort sees an immediate return as well as meager times where it seems that nothing you try moves the needle; if even just an inch.
That my friends, is when the going gets tough.
Whether as a large enterprise that has to tell the analysts that they have missed their earnings, or a small business that can’t get a working capital loan from their bank because the financials aren’t in order. It is the tough times that define the leader.
When it is you sitting there without the answers, how do you respond?
The mark of a leader is rarely if ever visible when prosperity is shining upon them. That is merely the recognition of a job well done, but most likely the consummation of months of thoughtful planning and fearless execution.
What you will find is that the great leader, the one that truly understands their craft and seeks to continuously inspire others, enjoys walking outside when the storm is passing through.
But why does the leader enjoy the storm?
It is because the storm is the only reason that the leader exists.
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The Storm is…
- Figuring out a vision when the future is clear as mud.
- First looking inward prior to looking outward when times are tough.
- Recognizing that it is people that make companies great and that the people must be at the center.
- Knowing that your strategy is only as good as your ability to create resources and drive the organization to execute.
- Where you show courage so others can continue to perform with confidence.
- Believing in yourself and your ideas even when it feels like no one else does.
- Realizing that you only fail when you no longer continue to try.
What if you just give up?
Can you imagine our world if tough times drove our great leaders to throw in the towel?
What if the Wright Brothers just gave up when their first flying machine didn’t take flight? (it didn’t) or if Edison called it quits before he discovered electricity?
While those events are seemingly monumental, they were merely inventions of their time. And of course had the Wright Brothers or Edison not been the ones to achieve those great feats, others would have.
However, if others were to have accomplished those things, our history books would have to be rewritten.
The Tough Get Going
The leaders of today must persevere. More than ever when facing the storm.
As another year passes us by, regardless of what it is we do, we all are going to face challenges.
If everything is going right, enjoy it, but keep focused because you are bound to be blown off course sooner or later. And if you are feeling like the one that has nothing going right, then realize that you are not alone.
You are merely amidst the storm and this is where you create your legacy.
Because if it wasn’t for the storm, the true leader would have no reason to exist.
So to that I say… Let it Pour
