The art of turning tough times into triumph The art of turning tough times into triumph

* It’s often during life’s most difficult times, * that we discover our most critical hidden strengths * And that we forge our most important capabilities

* Question # 1: * What is the one quality you most like about yourself? * Question # 2: * Can you think of a time in your life when you first discovered or developed your higher level of adaptability? * People discover or develop their most important qualities when times get tough

* At some point, you hit the bottom (disintegration) * And then you reintegrate (bounce back) around some new ideas – ideas that include a really important quality or adaptability * To continue to move up the competitive ladder, there is always a tougher disintegration

* People are too concerned about getting the right people, * when they should be concerned about the people right. * The Army does this by focusing 10 % of the effort on getting the right people, * And 90 % on getting the people right.

* Pressure always generates anxiety * You need to have the right type of anxiety * there are 2 types of anxiety * Type 1: the fear of change * Type 2: the fear of what will happen to you if you don’t change * Anxiety 2 always exceeds Anxiety 1 * The job of the leader is to convert Anxiety 1 to Anxiety 2 by showing what can be done about the situation.

* Christmas ornament: hold shoulder high, drop it and it shatters – falls apart * Orange: hold shoulder high, drop it, and it plops, lands with a thud, bruises * Rubber Ball: hold shoulder high, drop it, and it bounces back, pretty high! – grow stronger

* Ability to bounce back * How do you improve your resilience structure? * Learn new ways to deal with setbacks * Avoid reverting to what you always used to do * Mental aspect to an effective bounce

* See reality clearly * Treat causes, not symptoms * “We control,” not “they control” * Hold hands in traffic - stay together * Mental Toughness

* 1.. Embrace the bounce * 2.. Manage the anxiety * 3.. Manage the mental factors * 4.. Manage the money * 5.. Manage the mission * 6.. Manage the morale Think of these as concentric layers of a ball, each outer layer dependent on underneath layers

* Life is adaptation, repeated disintegration and reintegration in the face of change. * Never a matter of IF, but always WHEN * Successful people disintegrate and reintegrate quickly and successfully * Most resilient people are good at giving up old ways of thinking, and of adapting new ideas and approaches, which can significantly influence the depth and duration of the drop

* Leaders need to learn how to (1) absorb and contain anxiety when anxiety levels get high and (2) master the art of turning one kind of anxiety into another * Shifting the fear from “what might happen to us” to “what might happen to us if we don’t change” helps to relieve organizational stress

* See things as they really are – * Avoid reverting to old ways of thinking and acting * Avoid being influenced by wishfulness, which can cause an underestimation of the situation * Involve other people in thinking through the issue * Involve outsiders – more objective, less prejudice * Emphasize ‘we control” vs “they control” * Hold hands in traffic – stay together

* Ability to generate value, by providing value * Act as a shock absorber – balance the drive to expand with the need to protect * Act as a strategic compass -- prioritize -- don’t focus a large amount of time and energy on a low amount of return

* A sense of purpose that is the central organizing principle of everything you do * Highly specific, clearly stated, and widely embraced goal that carries with it a strong sense of the imperative * Mission is the thing upon which all the other things are based

* Morale - Firmness in the face of danger, failure and difficulties * Leaders who strike a balance between decisive action and thoughtful consideration * During difficult times, face the facts squarely and strongly reinforce a belief in the ability to solve whatever problems are being faced and emerge even stronger as a result. The trick is to stress both at the same time * it is the people in an organization who will, in the end, determine the morale