Much of this can be applied to our work and the companies we work for. We are all faced with those days of: “This is harder than I thought,” “I feel like I am swimming upstream,” “This is overwhelming,” “We can never win,” or “Why am I trying so hard?” We all have those days when we just want to give up. We have companies we want to “turn around.” We have financials we need to improve. We have sales quotas we feel we cannot meet. We have teams that are “down.” So, what do the best leaders do? They lead…. they lead in the toughest of times…they show you the future…they inspire confidence. They make YOU believe. They SHOW you the way. They never give up. So what are their strategies?
I do not know all of their secrets, but there is a long history of success stories with successful leaders. What do these great leaders do?
They take on the “never give up” mindset. Break down the challenge into manageable parts (I need to start with one touchdown). Have a plan on how to succeed (We need a field goal, two touchdowns and then two two-point conversions). Understand every problem can be solved. I heard a quote from an older gentleman the other day who said, “We all have 1000 problems in our lifetime…and when I looked back on them most were not problems.”
Learn from others. Mentors, peers, history, role models, movies. The movie “Rudy” comes to mind. Also, the history of Abe Lincoln who failed in business in 1831, lost his bid for state legislature in 1832, failed at business in 1833, watched his fiancé pass away in 1835, suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836, was defeated in Congress in 1843, ran for Congress again in 1848 and suffered another defeat, ran for Senate and lost in 1855, lost Vice-President bid in 1856, lost run for Senate in 1859, was elected President of the United States of America in 1860!
Learn to set your goals. Put it on paper. Make progress daily. Evaluate where you failed, make changes and move forward. Keep focused on your goals. To make a journey, you need to start with the first step.
Failure is not fun, but we all go through it. Take failure as a chance to learn. That down and out route did not work this time so let’s run a hook route. The great athletes will all tell you they focus on the “next play” and do not harbor on the last play. We can learn from this in the workplace. Too often we focus on “who” made the mistake versus “why” the mistake was made and how we can change to ensure it does not happen again. Often the pains of our failure are less than the build-up and the fear OF failure which paralyze us.
We too often focus on the failures in life, but forget about the simple pleasures of success we see daily. The difference between success and failure is often “not giving up.” Falcons fans or Patriots fans (or Packer fans like myself) – a great lesson in perseverance and leadership. Like them or not, the Patriots came together as a team, had a plan, kept focused on the goal, and closed their deficit one score at a time.
As Calvin Coolidge stated, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Go Pack!
Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr
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