What happens when you’re squeezed?
For most of us, for nearly two years has created a number of challenges: the health and safety of our people, where and how to work, the complete disruption of the global supply chain, and for many, will we even stay in business. Even for those that have seen a positive business climate, the challenges have been how to take advantage of the market opportunity without breaking our system and our people. These have been very real and without any foreseeable systemic relief. I was on a Zoom today and someone referred to our times as “the global pandemic of 2021 - 2025”. He wasn’t trying to forecast or be glib, but rather it was an attempt to create a perspective on what we don’t know and how to think about it.
Last week, I finished the Audible listen for Chris Voss’ best-seller Never Split the Difference. The book is about negotiation and in that context, one quote struck me: “When the pressure is on, you do not rise to the occasion. You fall to the highest level of preparation.” Just a few days later, while watching college football, an offensive line coach was quoted as saying, “When you get squeezed, your habits rise to the surface.” A third related idea from years ago in the context of personal values was “When you get squeezed, what’s inside comes out.” We may not be able to judge a book by it’s cover but we can identify a fruit by its juice.
Each of these ideas deal with the outcomes of applied pressure and each addresses a core truth of organizational and personal leadership:
Preparation matters. Mike Tyson famously declared, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Clearly, there are times when no amount of planning can prepare you for what might come our way, and yet, we also know that “luck favors the prepared.” Preparation might not prevent negative forces that apply pressure, but they can reduce the impact and/or create quick pivot points. I’m working on a project that has me studying again Jim Collins’ work and one of the points that I think often gets missed is the priority Collins places on discipline. Preparation is a function of discipline.
Habits define you. I coach a lot of youth baseball and I constantly remark, “Baseball is a game of habits.” It’s the consistent drills that make good habits something that aren’t even thought about - they just happen. If as leaders, we only react with when we’re not in “steady state”, all of a sudden dusting off our processes and coming up with a plan is awkward and inefficient at best - clumsy and ineffective more likely.
Character when it counts. When the pressure is on, we often expose some of our less attractive qualities (me included). Our actions need to match our words - especially when times are hard. Don Soderquist used to use a lighthouse as a metaphor for leadership. What made sense to me about that picture was not the blue-sky sunny day when the sailboats floated carefree in the harbor but rather the stormy night, wind howling, waves crashing on the rock, and people looking for a reference point and safe passage.
We’re now in the fourth quarter of 2021 and ‘22 is just around the corner. What will the new year bring? If anyone tells you they know the answer, don’t go into any land deals with them! But alas, that doesn’t leave us helpless or hopeless. It just reminds us that it’s a great time to prepare for contingencies, develop our habits and commit to the character qualities that will serve our people best - whatever comes.