Most people in the workforce are of the view that, as far as their career is concerned, they go to work to earn a living. The ones that are a step ahead understand that going to work is not exactly an accurate description of what they are doing – it is probably better described as going to war. It does not matter whether you oversee or are part of a small business (70% are gone within ten years of starting) or a very large business like those on the Fortune 500 list (less than 10% of those companies have survived from the original list), one way or another, leaders and their executive teams are “fighting” it out every day in order to thrive and, indeed, just survive. As Dr. Carl Sagan, an American astronomer said, “Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” And the same goes for the business world. As Jack Welch said, “When the change in the outside business world is greater than the change inside your company, the end is near.” And keeping up to that change requires executives to be “quick on their feet.” Just like the fable of the lion and gazelle pointed out, when both the lion and the gazelle wake up in the morning, they need to be running to survive. In the world of commerce, the same applies - you must outrun the grizzly (the competition) or you will suffer the untidy consequences.
So when you are hiring key team members, it is likely wise to ensure that at least some are capable of going to war, not just going to work – and that means, amongst many things, knowing how to outrun the grizzly!
Perform better!
