Remember The Stockdale Paradox

In the midst of all that is going on right now, let us pause and remember that we are not the first people to face a significant challenge in the history of the world. Previous generations have experienced world wars, epidemics and even a depression which included a drought in the midwest called the dust bowl. While the numbers of people who can remember this are quite elderly, we must remember that there have been survivors of these past difficulties. Now, it is our time to stand up to these complex, adaptive challenges and to survive as well.

And over the course of time and history, there have been many companies who also have had to face major crisis events. There are numerous books filled with the fascinating stories about how they did this.

One book that is helping me to maintain perspective was written by Jim Collins and is called Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't (HarperBusiness, 2001). In it, Collins writes about how good companies became great companies even in the midst of challenging circumstances. As he explains, “In every case, the management team responded with a powerful psychological duality. On the one hand, they stoically accepted the brutal facts of reality. On the other hand, they maintained an unwavering faith in the endgame, and a commitment to prevail as a great company despite the brutal facts.” He called this capacity to embrace a psychological duality the “Stockdale Paradox”.

As he explains, “The name refers to Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking United States military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Tortured over twenty times during his eight -year imprisonment from 1965 to 1973, Stockdale lived out the war without any prisoner’s rights, no set release date, and no certainty as to whether he would even survive to see his family again.” 

When asked how he survived, Stockdale replied, “I never lost faith in the end of the story…. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade…. This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Recognizing the psychological duality, Jim Collins writes, “The Stockdale Paradox is a signature of all those who create greatness, be it in leading their own lives or in leading others. Churchill had it during the Second World War. Admiral Stockdale, like Viktor Frankl before him, lived it in a prison camp. And while our good-to-great companies cannot claim to have experienced either the grandeur of saving the free world or the depth of personal experience of living in a POW camp, they all embrace the Stockdale Paradox. It didn’t matter how bleak the situation or stultifying their mediocrity, they all maintained unwavering faith that they would not just survive, but prevail as a great company. And yet, at the same time, they became relentlessly disciplined at confronting the most brutal facts of their current reality.”

When we as leaders embrace the Stockdale Paradox, we will lead with questions rather than answers, engage in strategic dialogue rather operational blaming, and we will own our decisions rather than finding fault with others’ decisions and actions.

Reading Jim Collin’s writing about the Stockdale Paradox, reminds me of the work by Ryan Holiday in his book, The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, Penguin, 2014. As he explains, “Every obstacle is unique to each of us. But our responses they elect are the same: Fear. Frustration. Confusion. Helplessness. Depression. Anger.” And all of us have been experiencing fear, frustration, confusion, helplessness, depression and anger during the last couple of weeks of social distancing and sheltering in place. COVID-19 feels like one massive obstacle that is impeding our actions and our choices on a daily basis.

At times like these, we as leaders need to remember something Andy Grove, former CEO of INTEL wrote: “Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great Companies are improved by them.” We need to think of COVID-19 not just as a problem or obstacle to our success as much as an opportunity to improve. We can improve how we work, communicate, collaborate and problem solve. We can improve how we serve our customers and our communities. We also can improve ourselves. This is not easy work but it is, nevertheless, important work.

First, now is the time to check your perspective on all that is happening around you and within you. You may not be able to control the big picture or all the elements within your company, your division, your department or even your team. But you can control your mind and your emotions. Now is not the time to panic as a leader. As Ryan Holiday wrote: “It’s a huge step forward to realize that the worst thing to happen is never the event, but the event and losing your head.”

Second, now is the time for right actions rather than just action. We need to remember that leaders get what they exhibit and what they tolerate. We need to be consciously role modeling clarity, thoughtfulness, compassion, and persistence. We should not tolerate disrespect, shaming, or blaming. We are all in this together and we need to stand together in it. As Ryan Holiday reminds us: “We forget: In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.”

Third, now is the time to focus on progress over perfection. Operational excellence happens on a day to day basis. We move forward step by step. It requires disciplined thought and disciplined action. And leaders have to be extremely disciplined right now. As Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao write in their book, Scaling Up Excellence: Getting To More Without Settling For Less (Crown Business, 2014): “Scaling requires grinding it out, and pressing each person, team, group, division, or organization to make one small change after another in what they believe, feel, or do…. When big organizations scale well, they focus on moving a thousand people forward a foot at a time, rather than moving one person forward by a thousand feet.” Now is the time to move a thousand people forward one step at a time.

This week, let us remember the words of Marcus Aurelius: “Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

As always, we need to stay strong, stay healthy, and stay safe. I look forward to seeing you on the other side.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Opening The Door

Our challenges as leaders are great. The problems of this economy are many. The politics within government are divisive. And yet so many people want change and they want it to start happening now. Reflecting on the last thirty days, I am reminded of the following two quotes:

“Change is a door that can only be opened from the inside.” - Old French saying

“It’s not my job to motivate players. They bring extraordinary motivation to our program. It’s my job not to de-motivate them.” - Lou Holtz, former head coach of the University of Notre Dame football team

First, I believe that many people forget that change involves stepping outside one’s comfort zone. And while fear or the threat of imminent disaster can motivate people, it does not motivate them in the same direction and as well as clarity, support and empowerment. We have to help people open the door from the inside to make real change happen, and this is a difficult personal action. It requires being around people with whom we trust, believe have perspective, and offer support.

Second, I believe that while many want to create effective and sustainable change, too many people experience a daily work environment that is constantly de-motivating them to change. With a lack of real support, trust or empowerment, motivated and committed to change kinds of people are constantly battling poor leadership and even worse poorly designed systems which prohibit that which the organization requires. The result is a rampant case of cynicism and the development of silos with the work environment.

So, how does one get people to open the door from the inside?

Max Dupree, former CEO of Herman Miller, wrote that “the first duty of a leader is to define reality.” Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't. HarperBusiness, 2001, called this “confronting the brutal facts.” As he writes, “when you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self-evident. It is impossible to make good decisions without infusing the entire process with an honest confrontation of the brutal facts.” Furthermore, he adds, “a primary task in taking a company from good to great is to create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard.” This will require us as leaders to “lead with questions, not answers,” and to “engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.” While defining reality is hard work, it must be done in such a manner so that people’s confidence and absolute faith that they and the organization will be successful in the end, regardless of the reality before them.

One critical element of helping people open the door up from the inside starts at the executive team level. As Edgar Schein, a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, wrote in the April 1995 edition of Executive Excellence magazine, “Organizational learning is not possible unless some learning first takes place in the executive subculture.” While many do not want to admit it, there is an executive subculture within many companies, and often it is the source of the problem. Filled with big egos and little true perspective, these individuals often reinforce a good-old-boys perspective of entitlement and grandiosity. For some, the company works for them rather than they working for the good of the company. Thus, the best CEO’s are constantly leading their executive teams through in-depth learning in order to prevent a misaligned sub-culture and to help them develop a more realistic and motivational work environment. They understand what Kevin Cashman wrote, namely, “Leaders get what they exhibit and tolerate.”

As we head in to September, let all of us remember that the development of a clear and united executive team in combination with the on-going development of a high-trust culture will make a world of difference. This fall we need people to open the door and stay motivated for the work ahead.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

A Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Tom Peters would often share in his lectures about “a blinding flash of the obvious,” namely an insight or perspective that would make your head spin. Having worked with numerous groups and people over the course of the summer, I think we all need some more blinding flashes of the obvious. Here are a few for your review.

First, let’s remember Collins’ brilliant insight that “Good is the enemy of great.” There are times when this should be handed out at the start of every meeting for the next 30 days so people will quit settling for “good” and instead have the discipline, fortitude, courage and clarity to seek great over good. Too many times this summer, I witnessed good and even OK as acceptable standards and behaviors in many companies. It is a far cry from greatness when we let mediocrity be acceptable.

Second, we need to continue working on a key idea from James Belasco, and Ralph C. Stayer’s book called Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring To Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead (Time Warner, 1994). As they write, “Transfer ownership for work to those who execute the work.” Brilliantly simplistic and yet so many people haven’t a clue about how to do this. Most forget that when we create “an environment for ownership where each person wants to be responsible for his/her own performance” then we are creating the opportunity to transfer ownership to those who do it on a daily basis. It is the ownership environment that holds the key to be prepared for the future.

Finally, back to Collins in his book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't. HarperBusiness, 2001, where he writes “all good-to-great companies began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality... When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self-evident. It is impossible to make good decisions without infusing the entire process with an honest confrontation of the brutal facts.” Brutal facts in combination with some good old fashioned faith and hope make a major difference.

Every day there are moments when a blinding flash of the obvious could happen. Open your eyes to the possibilities and keep educating those around you to do likewise. Remember: common sense is not always that common.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257