Hi, I’m David and my mission in life is to prepare people for the future of work. 

In this week’s edition of the newsletter the theme revolves around building resilience. Often, we tend to measure someone’s performance by what happens when things are going well. Yet how people do on their best day isn’t all that instructive. To find the truth, we need to look at what happens on our worst days. All the talent and potential in the world mean nothing if an athlete can’t consistently do the necessary things (i.e. eat well, practice, rest) when he/she doesn't feel like doing them. Products and services are only as good as they are when they break, not when everything is functioning fine. Companies are only as good as how they behave in a public relations crisis. Leaders are only as good as how they lead during times of uncertainty and fear. As individuals, we tell people the most about who we are when everything goes wrong. These times are also when we stand to learn the most about ourselves and, with a bit of luck, to turn things around in our favour. Below are some insights and thoughts that will help you understand why building resilience is crucial. 

Timeless Insight

“Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm.” – Publilius Syrus

We praise athletes that are on a winning streak, startups with a skyrocketing valuation, hedge fund managers seeing record-breaking returns, and so on. But it’s easy to look good when circumstances are calm and everything goes according to plan. Anyone can succeed for a while, even if it’s just out of luck. It’s no great achievement to do well if you’re not being challenged or tested. Watching what happens during a downturn is far more instructive, because you’re only as good as you perform on your worst day when the sea is not calm. Not because what you do the rest of the time doesn’t matter. Not because you are expected to be perfect under immense stress or to behave according to plan when everything seems to go against you. But because what you do on your worst day is virtually impossible to fake. On your worst day, you reveal your true self and whether you’ve been planning for the possibility of disaster or just coasting along enjoying the good times. On your worst day you either rise to the occasion and show your best qualities, or crumble in the face of adversity. Very few people prepare for what they’ll do and how they’ll act during difficult times. However, you can be one of them and build resilience.

Food for Thought

When an app stops working, do you face a confusing error message with no further guidance or clear instructions for how to get help? Is customer service quick and easy to access at any time or does it require you to jump through endless hoops? Even if you’ve had a positive view of a product or service for years, a problem that takes forever to fix or a hostile response when you ask for help will likely make you take your business elsewhere.

When a company is faced with a public relations crisis do its leaders evade blame and try to pin it elsewhere or do they take responsibility for their actions? Do they try to cover up what happened or do they come forward with the full truth? Do they ignore any damages or do they promise to make things better for everyone affected, no matter the costs involved? Reputations are fragile. One bad incident can linger in the customers’ minds for a long time.

When a political leader is faced with uncertainty and fear, do they hide away from public sight or do they serve as a reassuring, sympathetic presence that brings everyone together? Do they do what’s defensible or what’s best for everyone in the long run? Are they forced to react in the moment or were they already prepared? Ask anyone to name the best leaders in their country’s history and they’ll likely name those who were in power during times of crisis.

On a more personal level, your kids might not remember how you behaved on a relaxed, sunny Friday when work went well all week and you had little on your mind beyond playing with them. But they’re sure to remember how you behaved on the day when you’d lost your job due to a recession, you’d just had an argument with your partner, an unexpected bill arrived in the mail that morning, and then someone spilled spaghetti sauce on the couch. 

Your partner might not remember how you treated them when you were lying on a beach on holiday together with all of your worries far away and a good book you were excited to read. But they’re very likely to remember how you treated them when you had a disagreement over a problem that seemed insurmountable and involved complex emotions. That’s the moment when they might make a decision about whether they’re in this for the long haul.

Your boss might not remember the work you did on an average week when everything went to plan. But they’re sure to remember the time when you stepped up, stretched the limits of your abilities, and delivered what seemed impossible at short notice while everything around you was on fire. That’s what they will remember when thinking about what you’re capable of. And they’ll call upon you next time there’s a seemingly insurmountable challenge to solve. 

Your worst day represents an opportunity to show your best qualities, to stand out, and to learn an enormous amount about yourself in the process. Those are the days when your behaviour and how you respond to the task at hand will be the way people remember you. Because anyone can succeed when the sea is calm and everything goes according to plan. But only those who build resilience in difficult circumstances can hope to turn things around. 

Article of the Week 

Stop Preparing For The Last Disaster

Caricature of the Week

Source: Condé Nast

Thank you for reading and keep on growing!

David

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