Hope: In Business and Life, Finding The Light

Image by multimedia.dn.no

“There comes a time in every man’s life when man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.”

– Lou Mannheim (said to Bud Fox), in the movie Wall Street

In my last post, I wrote about why I believe in UFOs. Science-fueled arguments aside, the real point of the post was the powerful nature of belief. This human-only construct is how we’ve accomplished so much in our brief time on the planet. Belief underpins almost everything we do, from observing religion to rooting for our favorite sports teams. The latter could easily be confused as delusions of grandeur. Any Philadelphia Eagles fans out there know this all too well. Even so, as powerful as belief is, there’s something else with even greater juice. Hope.

Hope is the fuel for the vehicle we call belief. When we’re full of hope, we move forward in any direction we choose, believing that whatever we set out to accomplish, we will. Hope allows us to believe that we’ll become or do what we want, from finishing school to being a great role model and parent. It gives us limitless belief, which is critical in overcoming the inevitable Everest-like obstacles life tends to toss in our path. Instead of giving up, we look for ways over, through or around an obstacle.

Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter

Image by someecards

Without hope, the vehicle either comes to a rest, or never moves. How many times have we heard the expression, “This is hopeless”? I’m willing to bet that in almost every one of those situations, things weren’t truly hopeless. Even Aron Ralston, the hiker and subject of the true story depicted in the movie 127 Hours, never truly lost hope. His tale is harrowing and horrific, but never hopeless.

Losing hope can feel a lot like what Hal Holbrook’s character describes to Charlie Sheen. It’s like careening toward the abyss without the ability to tap the breaks. When we look into the abyss, it’s our indefatigable human spirit, our never say die will, that pulls us back and hardens our resolve.

Adversity reveals and strengthens character. Still, there are times when we need help to find hope through the clouds of despair. Supportive people in our lives can provide that critical tether to help keep us out of the abyss long enough to rebuild hope.

Building Hope

Image by Warner Bros

In gamer terms, hope is the ultimate health unit. A little hope goes a long way to restoring belief. Belief moves us to action. By the way, hope is not: “Man, I hope I win the lottery” or “I hope the Eagles beat Dallas”. Those represent a wish. It’s another four-letter word, but doesn’t punch at anywhere near the level of hope, which is the undisputed heavyweight champion.

So what does hope look like? Hope helps us to build our own fortress of solitude when things seem to be crashing down around us and challenging our beliefs. It keeps us going when we might otherwise give up. There are countless quotes that about hope, including Winston Churchill’s famous, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

My personal favorite: “It’s darkest before the dawn.” This tells me, or anyone dealing with challenging circumstances, that when things appear the bleakest, brighter times are just ahead. I like the visual of leaving the darkness behind and moving toward the hope-restoring light of a new day.

Hope is our ally in life. We feel its power in all we do, whether we realize it or not. It shapes our dreams, anchors our beliefs and guides our actions and decision-making. It’s not “The Force”, but it’s damn close.

I “hope” you enjoyed this post or found some meaning in it.

6 Reasons Why Pete Carroll Is A Great Leader

 

Like just about everyone else that watched the Super Bowl, I was dumbfounded at the play call that will forever define the game. I watched as the seconds drained from the game clock this past Sunday, kicking off a frenzied celebration by Patriots players and fans, and ushering in a corresponding state of utter dismay and shock from Seahawks constituents. I need not rehash this call; it’s been debated and reviewed ad nauseam.

Instead, I’m going to focus on something central to the overall debate, something that has received barely a mention in the midst of the prolonged fury and outrage: leadership. Seattle coach Pete Carroll has, many would say rightfully, been vilified for calling ‘the play’. While I’m neither a Seattle nor Pete Carroll fan, I will nevertheless give him a pass (no pun intended). In my mind, with this one play call, Carroll demonstrated several leadership traits worth emulating.

If you Google ‘Leadership Qualities’, you’ll get back an endless number of page results containing an array of leadership attributes, all of which crystallize around several key themes. Pete Carroll’s play call was an example, in a microcosm, of six different leadership traits:

1. Courage

Some will argue that the play call was staggeringly stupid; I’ll argue that it showed tremendous courage. All great leaders have an abundance of courage: the fearlessness to push on despite obstacles, make unpopular decisions and to try new things. No great innovation is borne from a lack of courage. There are always plenty of naysayers ready to shoot down every idea.

In the business world, leaders must have the courage to take risks. When Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group, met with a group of so-called experts who advised against joining an already crowded industry, Branson followed his gut instincts, and replied with his infamous slogan saying, “Oh, screw it. Let’s do it.” Courage is what separates great leaders from mediocre leaders.

2. Decisiveness

Pete Carroll, like many other great leaders when faced with making a decision, was decisive. Rather than sit idly, fearful of any number of possible results, great leaders make decisions, and do so quickly. It’s often said that any decision is better than no decision. If the result is unfavorable, or not as intended, then you step back, analyze, prepare and strategize for the next decision. Great leaders are not afraid to be decisive, and Carroll, as the leader of the Seahawks team, was decisive.

Who can remember sitting in a work meeting where a large group of people was discussing an upcoming company initiative? And even though senior management was present, no decisions were made, other than to schedule another meeting. Be decisive and move forward.

3. Taking Ownership and Being Accountable

Immediately after the game, and during a tsunami of questions from incredulous and bewildered media types, Pete Carroll did what all great leaders do: he took ownership and held himself accountable. He stood there, under the white-hot intensity of a catastrophic decision, and accepted full responsibility. He didn’t lay blame at his quarterback’s feet for throwing the interception, or his receiver for failing to make a play on the ball. Pete Carroll was accountable and took ownership of the decision, and did so without reservation.

When Andy Pettite, the former Yankees pitcher, was found to have tested positive for steroids, he took ownership and accepted responsibility. Most people accepted his humility and forgave him. Conversely, when Roger Clemens was faced with similar accusations, he dug in and defended his proclaimed innocence, almost to the point of belligerence. To this day, the allegations still dog him, as does his refusal to take ownership and be accountable.

4. Confidence

Great leaders display confidence at all times. Even if, behind closed doors, they shake from fear and uncertainty, they don’t show it in a public forum. While many will argue that Pete Carroll’s confidence was misplaced, bordering on arrogance, I will counter that he had (and probably still has) the utmost confidence in himself and his team to execute. Anyone who’s played sports, at any level, can attest to the surge in self-confidence that comes from seeing the confidence the coach has in you and the plan of attack. Pete Carroll displayed the confidence that great leaders have in themselves, their people and the plan.

I coach youth sports, and often find myself in situations where I’m working hard to build, or maintain a player or team’s confidence. A year or so ago, a baseball team I was coaching was about to face an undefeated team in a tournament. From the get-go, I focused on establishing a positive environment to foster the team’s mental well-being and preparedness. Though the team was overmatched, they fought hard and played with confidence, losing a close game.

5. Optimism

A close relative of confidence, optimism relates to your overall view, rather than confidence in a particular skill. Pete Carroll has an unyielding belief in his plan to produce a positive outcome, and that sort of optimism is infectious. Great leaders never back down from believing in a positive result, no matter the odds. Mediocre leaders allow tentacles of negativity to slip through and compromise their optimism.

In 1980, in what is the greatest upset in sports history, the US hockey team beat the heavily favored Russian hockey team to advance to the gold medal game. Coach Herb Brooks had an unwavering optimism about his team’s chances, despite a mountain of pessimism from just about everyone else.

I recently launched my own writing company, after years of toiling at the craft as a hobby of sorts. As expected, I heard plenty of pessimism. There was no shortage of such uplifting feedback as “All companies have writers. What makes you think anyone will hire you?” And that was just from my Mom! I’d like to think that I tapped into a well of optimism to brush off the naysayers and move forward. I believe in myself and hold tightly to a personal mantra in the face of overwhelming doubt: “Be positive. Stay positive.”

6. Inspiring

In my view, one trait of great leadership stands out among the rest: the ability to inspire. Every great leader has this ability and taps into it regularly, whether to fire up the troops for assaulting a beachhead, pounding the streets and phones to sell more products and services, or give everything they’ve got to win the big game. There is no doubt that Seahawks players rally around, and draw inspiration from Pete Carroll.

As a writer, I draw inspiration from other writers that have mastered the craft. While Stephen King might object to me calling him a leader, he nevertheless inspires me with a quote about writing to which I often refer: “You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” Who has inspired you?

I’m not suggesting that we celebrate Pete Carroll for making a decision with such a disastrous outcome. Further, and based on the end result, I don’t expect Seahawks fans to agree with the above perspective. Still, great leadership encompasses many things, and no football team can get to the Super Bowl, and win it, without great leadership. The same principle applies to the business world. Companies with a vacuum of leadership will lack direction, like a rudderless ship, be uninspiring and ultimately fail. Say what you will about the play call and the end result, Pete Carroll demonstrated great leadership, and that is something to which we should all aspire.

Welcome to Our Blog!

 

 

 

As a writing and marketing company, we recognize that communication is the most important part of what we do. It’s how we build brands, deliver news and provide ongoing, meaningful content for our clients. Sure, communication begins with effective writing, but it takes many forms. Blogging is one such form. This is our blog, and we invite you to step in and look around.

With our blog, we hope to convey useful ideas, thought-provoking topics and relevant information about writing, marketing, business strategy and leadership, all infused with a sense of humor. Occasionally, we’ll drift from our regular themes to discuss topics that might seem as if they come out of left field. Why? You never know what will spark a conversation, and besides, like you, we have interests beyond the day-to-day. We might blog about sports, travel or whatever strikes our fancy.

Mark Twain once wrote, “Write without pay until someone offers to pay.” Writers can relate to Twain, particularly those who’ve toiled away at dead-end jobs while attempting to scratch out a living writing. For years, while working tirelessly (and often, I felt, mindlessly) in the financial services industry, I looked for, and snatched up any job-related writing opportunity that arose. The type of writing mattered little. I enjoyed the writing process, as well as the break from the daily monotony. Technically speaking, I was paid to write. That’s how I saw it, even though I’m sure each company viewed my writing proclivity as just another way to squeeze more out of me without having to pay me anything beyond my salary.

At some point in our lives (usually when we have to start paying for stuff), the realization hits home that we need to get serious about making money. “Put your dreams aside, son,” we’re told, “it’s time to get serious about your career.” Armed with that enthusiasm-crushing advice, we march off to some button-pushing, lever-pulling job that is neither inspiring nor fulfilling. I know, because I’m describing myself. If you’re not doing what you feel passionate about, you’ll continue to feel the call of something different…something better. For me, I felt the call of writing.

Throughout my career, I’ve found that, with respect to writing, people fall into one of three buckets. These are merely my observations, but they’ve proven accurate.

1. People Who Can’t Write

This group represents people for whom writing is an unbearable chore, as they tend to have neither the desire nor the ability. The English language is extraordinarily complicated, so it’s hardly surprising that grammar, spelling and style can flummox people.

2. People Who Can Write, But Don’t (or Don’t Want To)

In this group are people who have the talent and ability to write, but avoid it wherever possible. They find it to be a grueling task, akin to having teeth pulled. Though people in this group understand the importance and value of well-written communication, they’re often focused on other high-value tasks.

3. People Who Can Write and Do

Like any other writer, I fall into this bucket. You love writing, and can do it all day. It’s not a chore or task, at least in the sense of enjoyment. Sure, the occasional writer’s block pops up, however it’s not an insurmountable challenge. Not every assignment offers heart-pumping excitement; it’s the act of writing that fuels us.

We’ve had clients from each bucket (though mostly the first two), and each offers its own unique experience. Though shortened forms of communication are valued today (e.g. Twitter and text language), businesses can’t afford to have mistakes in their marketing materials, website content, blogs or sales proposals. One small grammar or style miscue can make all the difference between landing a big deal and seeing the competition win the business.

So, with all this said, how important is writing to you and your business?