Absorbing pain is noble.
I learned that on the rugby fields of South Africa: sometimes you have to run to the next ruck feeling dizzle from making a tackle, or play through stingers to the shoulder, or carrying on playing with loose teeth (or no teeth in my case, as I lost my front four when I was 18. Don’t worry – they’ve been replaced …).
But businesses that mask pain aren’t noble. I don’t know how it became this way, but businesses have an incredible ability to absorb pain. Somehow, this behaviour was set early – probably in the early 1900s when modern businesses were formed, and employee rights were not a thing. But that pattern has continued, and businesses are worse off because of it.
It’s great to show resilience and hang in there until things improve. I’m all for that – sometimes we need to tough things out. But absorbing pain has a shadow side for businesses in that this absorption hides important changes that need to be made. And the longer these cracks survive, the longer they become entrenched.
This is not news to you, most probably. But CEOs need to look for those places and moments when it would be better NOT to be resilient, and rather tune into the adjustments a business needs.
A CEO-style that is overly brave can lead to a business of this sort – after all, the business will always mirror the CEO. So it’s about recognising when resilience is helpful and when it’s unhelpful.
Here’s where I see it happen most often:
- Persevering with a Strategy that is unviable
- Hoping a ‘bad actor’ will reform themselves
- Stomaching work pressure or long hours that start to cannibalise productivity
- Accepting poor behaviour from a customer
Resilience can have a masochistic angle to it, so watch out for when it crosses that ‘red line’.
A few highlights from my world to share from the past week:
- Delivering my ‘Neo CEO’ intense development process for a young CEO of a fast-growing FMCG business. It was amazing to see his young mind get some structure and intention behind his natural talent.
- Delivering my keynote ‘From Dust to Diamond’ for the second time. It’s feeling easier and more natural every time I do it. The keynote is about the hidden gems within ourselves and the businesses we’re part of.
- Doing my first piece of work with an utterly remarkable new client who is aggregating veterinary practices in South Africa. This truly is a great example of a Transcendent Business – one of the best I’ve ever seen.
- Making progress on the theory that links Transcendent Businesses to ROE. This is such a vital link to make in order for the idea of a Transcendent Business to be credible in the eyes of interested CEOs
As the global economy picks up, it feels like businesses once again have some breathing room to dream bigger dreams. In parallel, the frictioned practices of outdated businesses seem to be causing increasing levels of suffering (human and commercial).
It feels like the timing is right for Transcendent Businesses. Check out a video description here on our Lockstep website. It’s only 1:30 long, and it might just be a transformational moment for you as a CEO.