Whether on the battlefield or in the
boardroom, these principles will ensure victory in the face of adversity.
In April 1836 general of the Texian army, Sam
Houston, fled the Mexican army throughout eastern Texas. Although his men
wanted nothing more than to fight the Mexicans led by Santa Anna, Houston would
not risk their lives. Despite accusations of cowardice, he would not budge.
Sam Houston knew Santa Anna would make a
mistake and so he withdrew with discipline even when many doubted him. His
discipline proved wise when the Texan army defeated the Mexicans in 18 minutes
at San Jacinto on April 22. The resounding victory cost 11 Texan lives as they
killed 650 Mexican soldiers and captured 300 others; an irreversible blow to
the Mexican army that sowed the seeds for Texas independence.
The same disciplined approach allows most
successful businesses to overcome their greatest adversities.
Whether a business or entrepreneur is facing
intense competition, unfair monopoly, or a global recession, the answer is the
same. Discipline in the pursuit of one’s goals is the only way to successfully
overcome adversity.
Luckily, discipline is a process to refine
and cultivate. To become more disciplined in your endeavors, practice these
three tenets.
1. Discipline is constant.
Inspiration is fleeting.
In 1985 Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple
computers. Being stripped of power and forced from the company that he helped
to create, Jobs didn’t fight back with legal action or a smear campaign, which
he could have undoubtedly afforded.
Instead, Jobs focused on what he could
control: his actions. He founded NeXT Computer, was involved with Pixar’s
success and honed his skills over 12 years to become the CEO of Apple again in
1997.
There were moments when Steve Jobs or Sam
Houston were inspired, but their constant discipline ultimately led them to
success. Inspiration is fleeting, emotional, and unpredictable. It feels great,
but accomplishes less than discipline. The entrepreneur who initially feels
inspired rarely completes the task without disciplined action.
In the face of adversity, inspiration is even
less reliable. The weight of an army, a competitor, overwhelming force, or
something not being “fair” strips us of inspiration and motivation. What’s left
is our discipline, and the actions it can lead to.
2. Practice “right action.”
Discipline has no agenda. It neither wants
nor cares whether you achieve your goal. Action alone will not lead to success,
but “right action” can over time.
Santa Anna split the Mexican army to quickly
chase victory, the folly of rash action. Sam Houston waited with patience for
his moment to strike, the virtue of right action.
“Right action” is characterized as bold and
deliberate made mindfully and with virtue. Each person may define “right
action” differently and must be confident enough to determine the difference
for oneself.
3. Discipline breeds creativity.
You don’t have to be Steve Jobs or the CEO of
a huge multi-national corporation to utilize and benefit from these tenets of
discipline. Small businesses can take advantage of a disciplined approach as
well. Faced with the longest and most intense recession in Calgary’s history,
Jared decided his business would keep costs down by renting no space and
instead focusing on the quality of service.
He took a lesson from Stoic philosopher
Marcus Aurelius who said “There are brambles in the path? Then go around.
That’s all you need to know.” The adversity allowed Jared to be more creative,
decentralize his business, and grow during a time when other businesses failed.
In an increasingly globalized and competitive
world, creativity is often the only difference between success and failure.
Consistent right action breeds creativity. According to Steven Pressfield’s
"The War of Art," creativity (in the form of the Muse) only strikes
if an artist puts in the work every day.
Like Pressfield, Tim Derrington is no
stranger to creativity. At a relatively young age, his architectural and
artistic work in Austin, Texas is already revered by many. Noting his most
creative work comes when he is free from menial distractions on Saturdays, he
often sacrifices his weekend to appease the creativity gods in pursuit of his
best work.
This isn’t to say he produces something of
immense creativity every Saturday. Neither will you be able to find creative
solutions to your problems through discipline alone. But the great works of
creativity we do produce will come from our discipline.
Prepare when times are good.
There are a million adages about preparation
during the times of plenty for those times when we don’t have much. Most
revolve around finances, resources, and saving money in the event of an
emergency. Like the diligent saver, we must treat discipline in the same way.
If we can cultivate discipline when things
are going well, it will be easy to overcome adversity. In fact, when we are
disciplined in our approach to business, we can thrive in adversity while
others recede from view.
Written By: Mansal Denton
Credit: Entrepreneur.com
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment