Persevere!
A favorite business story from years ago (2006) is just as relevant today as ever. Maybe even more so.
The eminent British historian, Sir Paul Johnson, penned a missive in Forbes Magazine is which he advocated that successful people should employ something he called, the Rhino Principle, especially when facing a crisis.
It goes like this. The rhino, Johnson explained, is single-minded and highly focused when it is alarmed or exercised about some crisis. When it senses that it has an obstacle to overcome, the rhino makes a decision to charge. The rhino then puts everything it has into that charge.
When the charge is over, Johnson observed, the object in the rhino’s path was either flattened or fled for cover quickly getting out of the way of the determined charging beast. With the crisis past, the rhino eventually returns to its normal business.
Johnson’s recommendation is a philosophy that I particularly like because almost any task facing us today in our COVID-ravaged world requires this mindset, it seems to me.
· If philanthropic, do not give up and do not quit pursuing innovative strategies that can raise money for those charities that still out there seeking to do good for those they serve even in a challenging financial market.
· If media, do not yield on trying to tell that important story to those you need to listen even if there is a lot of noise competing against you to get your message across in this confusing environment.
· If academics, do not retreat on teaching those critical lesson plans even if a pandemic is keeping your students out of the classroom or seminar.
· If citizenship, do not accept that good government is a dead dinosaur even when many of those around you are ignoring the need for greater transparency and ethics in the halls of democracy.
Put your head down, focus on the goal, let the crisis motivate you, and charge ahead with single-minded determination. Business will most assuredly return to normal in no time at all.
Thank you for the advice, Sir Paul!