Recently, I read an article titled “A Navy SEAL explains 8 secrets to grit and resilience” which depicts the determination and skill that every true Entrepreneur needs to have to succeed.
All entrepreneurs regardless of entity size or industry, experience challenging times. Some are self-inflicted, some are symmetric of the life cycle, while others follow the trends of the economy. Nothing is always perfect – it is truly impossible.
A very common observation occurs in closely held companies, during the good times, very few extinguish or reduce debt. The exact opposite occurs, they incur debt or increase operating costs, to the extent that they cannot sustain the costs or infrastructure when their business hits a bump. In such times, often, the first thing the entrepreneur looks to cut is infrastructure. Trimming workforce or operational costs, should not be exclusively limited to difficult times, this should be a process done quarterly through benchmarking and KPI management – Measure. Assess. Rectify. continuously
The author – Erik Barker showed 8 key elements to success. These can be easily (and should be) implemented in the work environment.
- Purpose and meaning. It’s easier to be persistent when what we’re doing is tied to something personally meaningful.
- Make it a game. It’s the best way to stay in a competitive mindset without stressing yourself out.
- Be confident — but realistic. See the challenges honestly but belief in your own ability to take them on.
- Prepare, prepare, prepare. Grit comes to a lot easier when you’ve done the work to make sure you’re ready.
- Focus on improvement. Every SEAL mission ends with a debrief focusing on what went wrong so they can improve.
- Give help and get help. Support from others helps keep you going, and giving others support does the same.
- Celebrate small wins. You can’t wait to catch the big fish. Take joy where you can find it when good times are scarce.
- Find a way to laugh. Rangers, SEALs, and scientists agree: a chuckle can help you cope with stress and keep you going.
*original article source Barking Up the Wrong Tree.