I am a strong believer of perseverance. It is something I embraced early in life and have seen the fruits from over time. Some would call me tenacious, some would call me stubborn, my husband calls me annoying (at times). I think I just am persevering.
Negative words regarding perseverance always surprise me. We celebrate musicians (Yo-Yo Ma), sport superstars (Michael Jordan), and novelists (J.K. Rowling) – all of whom persevered to get to their respective top.
Hours of MJ’s Practice, J.K’s failures, with a single-minded focus of playing, winning and writing. We are in awe of the rich and famous but have you ever asked yourself how they got there? Everyone loves a winner, or winning themselves. Maybe because successful people make it look easy. Maybe, because we only see the fruits of our heroes and never their labor, we do not realize the amount of energy and perseverance there is in the success they have achieved. My dad used to say, “It’s only hard because you don’t know how to do it, yet.”
In business, to be successful it is critical to persevere. Nothing stays the same, challenges come, people change, and solutions vary. In the business world the old cliché rings true; “The only constant is change.” It is only when companies persevere, tenaciously drive to an answer, and stubbornly refuse to fail, will a company truly become best in class.
As we know, businesses are just groups of like-minded people working toward a common goal. So, I think the word(s) used in business today to describe “perseverance” should really be “engaged employees”.
I am in awe of and indebted to those that passionately work to the greater good, that keep getting back up day after day, and put in the labor needed for the team to be successful – these are the real unsung heroes of our day; “Engaged employees.”
Are you in? I am.
Be intentional
Melissa
