How to build resilience in your business
Because resilience builds businesses.
Resilience isn’t about avoiding problems. It’s about knowing you can handle them.
A few weeks ago, I was on a client coaching call with a busy, capable, and at that moment, totally stressed and overwhelmed founder. She felt like she was being dealt one blow after another in her business, and that she could never really relax because she never knew what was around the next corner.
She was worried about all of the things that could go wrong with the new phase of the project she was leading her team through. She was weighed down by the burden of how much she wanted it to go right. And she was grappling with all of the things that were out of her control. #highstakes
Her question for me… “So, how do you stay sane?”
To which I responded, “You can't ever anticipate every single thing that could go wrong or go right, right? You just don't know. You're going to make your best effort and go out. That said, have you not proven yourself capable of handling things when they inevitably do arise? And that’s a very real question for you.”
To which she replied, “Wow, I've never, I've honestly never even thought about it that way.'“
It was a leading question on my part because I knew how capable she was. I’d seen firsthand how she was able to navigate the opportunities and crises that had arisen in over the last year that we’ve been working together. But she needed to see that.
What it means to be resilient and why it’s important to your business success.
Let’s start with the reality of being in business…
Things will go wrong.
Clients will disappear.
Strategies will flop.
You’ll try something, it doesn’t work.
You’ll make a decision, and it backfires.
You’ll take a risk, and the outcome isn’t what you hoped for.
All of this has the power to knock the wind out of you.
What matters is how you respond.
Resilient business owners let themselves wallow for a time, but that time is measured.
They don’t dwell. They adjust. They look at what went wrong, extract the lesson, and apply it. Then they move forward—without the baggage of self-doubt or shame. They keep moving.
They try not to take setbacks personally and, over time, come to see challenges as part of the game.
Staying in the game. That’s the goal.
Some tools to use to build resilience.
Here are some suggested ways you can work your resilience muscle and take some of the stress off in the process.
First, detach from the drama. A less-than-desirable quarter or a lost client opportunity doesn’t define you. It’s a moment, not a measure of your worth. Step back and assess what worked, what didn’t, what you can do differently. As I shared last week, “treat everything as a test.” Some tests confirm what works. Others teach what doesn’t. Either way, you gain valuable insight—and that’s how you do better next time, and get to the next time faster.
Second, ask better questions. Instead of, “Why did this happen to me?” try “What can I learn from this?” And reframe your experience. Instead of, “That was a failure,” try, “That was data.” Every misstep gives you information you can use to make better decisions. And you never know… a setback can lead to new ways of doing things and better results than you would have had had you stuck with your original plan.
Take action, fast. The longer you sit in self-doubt, the harder it is to get moving again. Learn, adjust, and go again. Keep taking your shots.
To help with this, consider the following:
“So Kobe Bryant, five-time NBA champion.
He also holds the all-time record for missed shots. So five-time NBA champion, arguably one of the best players to ever live in basketball, holds the all-time record for missed shots.
Babe Ruth is a seven-time World Series champion.
He also led the MLB in strikeouts for five seasons. So Babe Ruth, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, right, led the MLB in strikeouts for five seasons. So he hit massive home runs.
Tom Brady, right, is a seven-time Super Bowl champion. He also holds a record for most passes intercepted in Super Bowl history.
Novak Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion. He also holds the record for the most tennis final losses in history. There you go.
Wayne Gretzky scored more goals than any player in NHL history, 894 in the National Hockey League. Wayne Gretzky, 894 goals.
Also missed more shots than anyone else, 5,723 missed shots. So he holds the record for most missed shots. He also holds the record for the most made.”
~ The Niche Is You — Matthew Gottesman
If any of this rings true, check out “On the benefits of (good) stress.” Challenges and stress can produce amazing outcomes.
Most of all, trust yourself. You’ve navigated hard things before. You’ll do it again.
Until next time.
Katherine
#ICYMI
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