FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
October 26, 2005
Leading Ideas: The Value of Rough Seas
"A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner." -- English Proverb
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting a man who, despite a severe speech impediment, had become the top salesman at his company. It was such an unlikely story that I asked him how he'd done it. He joked, "with a lot of bruises and scars." He went on to say, "Not surprisingly, the road was terribly tough for me. I was awful in the beginning -- and it lit a fire under me. It made me work harder than everyone else. I resented it then, but I've come to realize it was a blessing in disguise."
Consider this:
In life, it's the rough patches that build your strength and character. They test you. They make you dig deeper, think harder, and risk more. Use them to your advantage. Don't play the victim. Get up and get creative. It's what you do when the going gets tough that defines you.
Try this:
When you hit a rough patch:
1. Don't wish the ride was smoother - it's not supposed to be.
2. Use the challenge to get smarter.
3. Tackle one thing at a time - don't overwhelm yourself.
4. Keep smiling throughout.
Question: How have you used rough seas to your advantage?
Posted by Doug Sundheim at October 26, 2005 9:45 AM | Category: leadership |
12 Comments
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Some may consider the above corny (part of me did too) but I think the message is priceless. why ?
because most of us do the exact opposite of the 4 pointer.
we wallow in self-pity,wish it was different, turn dour and all all over the map.
good reminder.
A rough sea makes life interesting and challenging, as opposed to a reality where everything can be 100% expected and safe. On the other hand, even skilled mariners sometimes enjoy a calm sea for what it is. Nobody what to ride a rough sea forever.
I've had more that my share of personal and professional challenges for the past few years, and frankly I wish the ride will become smoother. Not that I don't enjoy challenges, but after a while you wish to pick the challenges you want to face, not the other way around.
At the extreme end, soldiers in Iraq are pushed to their personal limits and often much beyond that. Yes, they ride a rough sea. But sometimes a challenge will leave only damage will little benefits.
The reason that The Greatest Generation received that name from Tom Brocaw in his book, was because of the many sacrifices that they made for freedom. After fighting a brutal war, where thousands died at Normandie on D-Day at at Bataan on the death march, these men came home with hope for the future and gave birth to the Baby Boom (by contrast the Me Generation), built elementary schools for their children, middle schools, high school, colleges, and the infracture that allowed the American economy to prosper. The men and women who are in Iraq are showing the same courage and charcter as the Greatest Generation, and my Baby Boom contemporaries are afraid of and are unwilling to do the things necessary to preserve freedom. They display a mock concern for the "poor soldiers in Iraq", while criticising and undermining their mission. But there have always been Quislings and Chamberlains who would rather apease cruel enemies than stop them. It is left to the Churchills and Eisenhowers to do the fighting and these later men are know for their heroism and the former are know for the suffering and dealth that their compromises with evil yielded. The men and women of character in Iraq fighting for all of us in US uniforms don't feel sorry for themselves and even when wounded only regret not being able to do more. My Me Generation can only rehash left-over left wing slogans from their "glorious" college days, when they wore surplus army jackets and burned the flag. Not a lot of character is required to get high and pick up "chicks" at a peace march, but it does bring back warm and fuzzy memories to some. There is a New Greatest Generation, but it is serving in Iraq, not at home whining and complaining.
Amen, Martel, and amen to all those, "Over There."
Roger Fulton
Yuma, Az
(United States Air Force)
http://spaces.msn.com/members/rogerroost/
It's resistance that makes us grow stronger. Like lifting weights (yes, that's from an Audio series), as you push against the weights your muscles get stronger. Same in life, every challenge makes you stronger. When my prospects bring up objections my first instinct is to say "ohh no,, this is what I don't need". I have programmed myself instead to say "oh yes, another chance to work out".
But I will agree with Paul Silverman. Sometimes I wish those smooth spots were closer together..
This may be considered "chicken soup for the modern manager's soul" and while true, I find a caveat. I know "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and all that jazz, however, it's when there is no end in sight, or when you get through one storm just to find it comes back at you or another one brews before you get the calm seas that takes it's toll. Sometimes you have no choice but to "tackle more than one thing" (it's called multi-tasking in today's language...) When you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, or get to "situation normal" before the next storm that the stress mounts. I do like the last one... wear a smile through it all. That's what I need most to remember. Yoga anyone?
Well Said, Martel.
Certain things are not just under one's control.At times rough patch automatically comes and one has to face it.Next comes the percentage of success.Few succeed and they are the successfull ones.
I think you are exactly right! As the joke goes, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." There is almost spiritual side to this. I have read that in the prosperous Western countries, people tend to ask God in their prayers to "take away this problem from my life that makes life so hard." In poorer countries, people tend to pray along the lines of "make me strong so that I can endure this trial." I think this attitude makes all the difference.
I've "played" with this concept for the last 12 years... the concept of riding out the tough times. here's what I've learned:
1) As above, it's soooo vitally important to smile through it. A friend of mine who owns (of all things) a day trading site called Garsworld.com says that "cosmically, when you're reaching for a goal, and all hell breaks lose, it means you're on to something. The universe is testing you to see if you're committed to the cause you've set forth."
So, are you? Are you committed, or...
2) is it actually a sign to move in another direction? That's the tough part. But if the idea was good enough to get you, a pretty smart, savvy entrepreneur or intrapreneur to commit to it, then it must have had some merit. Do a check on that and see if you were right the first time, or if you need to modify your original plan.
3) Plan B, C, D...Z are more often the ones that actually make it to market. So do some freeform brainstorming with your trusted associates, and see if you're on track, or crazy. Nothing like a little wake-up call from a trusted associate to get you looking at things from a new angle.
4) The battle is not the war. You'll wake tomorrow, and if you didn't wake at 3AM in cold sweats over your "situation", then maybe you'll have a fresh perspective on things.
5) In Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, he states that survival is the very base level. Sometimes being there, where you HAVE to make things happen, is extremely good for both the business, and your soul. Once you push through (and you will), you'll get to a new level on the survuval scale... and you'll know that the bastards can't get you down.
OK, so those are my current ruminations for the day. Maybe they're simply expansions on Doug's 4 points above, but they keep me sane.
Hopefully they'll do the same for you.
Best of success,
Mark Alan Effinger
RichContent.com
Rough times can either build or destroy depending on how you accept them.When i was in my final grade at high school, i was suspended for one term with recommendation for expulsion.As if not enough my father passed away,i became an orphan. The result was that i aimed at getting the best results in school so as to shame the school administration because i believed they suspended me to destroy my future. During my final exam i performed far much better than what they expect. They even confessed.
This gave me goose bumps, I have just been through a rough patch in my life and every moment I found time to look at the positive side of the situation. I smiled even when my heart was acking and GOD had not taken his hand of me once.