Keep Going

I recently read the attached article in an adventure magazine. I am always interested in hearing the stories of success and failures of adventurers, as I often try to relate them to my life and business. Many of the traits required to climb a mountain, explore the arctic or just finish a challenging race are the same traits that business leaders need to survive in these trying times.

The article simply illustrates that optimism is the number one requirement for success. How can someone survive a 480 mile trek in temps of 60 below without being optimistic. Business is no different. These are trying times for everyone in just about every industry. For those that see these times as a challenging opportunity, to better ourselves and our companies, are the ones the will thrive, not just survive.

Getting Focused
Think Small. When running a marathon, if you focus on mile 26 while at mile 20 you will never see the finish line. You need to think in small steps. Let's make it to mile 21. When there, go for mile 22, when things get really tough aim for the next telephone pole. Step by step is the only way to finish. The business world is no different. People often get distracted by trying to do 20 different things or trying to get everything perfect. You need to think small. Pick one or two short term goals, hit them and then move to the next one. The momentum and sense of accomplishment from hitting these short term wins will propel you and your team to the next one. Before you know it, you've reached your goal and are ready to begin work on new goals.

After action review. What worked, what didn't. Failures can be as valuable as successes. Sure its great to succeed, but with failure your are able to look into yourself and really get a grasp of what your limits are. This is the only way to get better. In business its the same way. Need to fail, but fail fast and cheaply. Learn from the mistakes and rally the organization around the failure to be better equiped next time. If you are a growth company, the failure was likely smaller than some of the future opportunities you will be confronted with. Remember, you have to take risks to succeed and with risk will inevitably come failure.

Celebrate the finish. Doesn't matter if you just finished a walk to the north pole or a 5 mile race. If you worked your hardest you deserve a reward. Doesn't have to be extravagant, just make it special. Maybe a meal at a restaurant you wouldn't typically go to. A movie on a work night. Whatever it is, make a mental connection between the recent success and the reward. Business is no different when you and your team hit a goal, celebrate. Again, keep it simple, but make it special. Ice cream at lunch time, drinks after work, a tailgate party for the local team. It doesn't need to be extravagant, but does need to follow the recent success.

Business life today is about survival and the lessons learned in the Artic cold are usefull. Keep up your optimism, focus on the task at hand, shoot for small wins, evaluate failures, celebrate wins.

At Signature Community we have been in an Artic environment for the past 12 months, but we are making the most of it. We are optomistic that we will make it out stronger than before. We have focused our attention on the items that we can control (occupancy rates, customer satisfaction, cost controls) and not dwelling on the unknows (global economic distress), we shoot for short term wins ( 97% occupancy, acting with urgency, manager empowerment) not confusing long term ideas, we fail and learn from our failures, we celebrate our wins, and we will not stop until the finish line.

No More Bad Days
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/08/performance-bright-side-andrew-tilin-text

Thanks for making it happen.
Nick