have decided to share chapters of my upcoming book: "The 14 Rules for Breakthroughs in Business" in LinkedIn and on the web.
Rule №3: Patton’s Way — Have Courage and Take Risks!
Here is one of the most important rules for achieving significant results.
“Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage….Audacity, audacity, always audacity.”
General George S. Patton
World War II had some remarkable generals, but few can match the courage, and fearless reputation of General Patton.
Whether he was fighting the Germans in North Africa, or advancing at record speed against them after the Allied Invasion of D-Day in 1944, General Patton showed that planning is good, but bold, courageous action makes a huge difference on the battlefield.
We must realize that courage is fundamental for a company’s growth. The reason is that without courage innovation dies. When the innovator is a brand new startup it’s easy to innovate because a brand-new company does not have a previous product or service. When one is an established player however it is much harder because innovation frequently goes against products and services your company already has.
Beyond the Bible the lives of courageous men and women show us that overcoming fear was the door to success, people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Winston Churchill overcame prison, triumphed after death, and conquered larger foes by refusing fear to seize them, or the people they led.
Nelson Mandela said about courage:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Let us remember the demise of Kodak, a company young generations may not even know existed but that ruled the world of photography from 1900 to 2000 yet has almost disappeared now.
Why did Kodak go from Billions of dollars in sales to next to nothing today? Well, the profitable business of film and printing of photos was too tempting for them, and despite seeing the digital revolution come their way, they moved very slowly to embrace it. Contrast that with their rival, Fuji, a company that transformed itself, and still makes a mark in the world of photography via innovative cameras, photo printers, and many other related areas where it continues to thrive.
The demise of Kodak shows us why innovation always requires courage. When you are a small company facing a huge competitor is a courageous move, and can only be done via relentless innovation. However, large companies also require courage, courage to be willing to change fast, and even attack their own products with strong alternatives in order to serve the customer and prosper long term.
An innovative culture must be promoted internally so that the flow of innovation never stops, and your people know they will be handsomely rewarded for their ideas instead of being ridiculed or ignored.
Meritocracy, a culture where the best ideas and the people behind them are rewarded is one of the ways to ensure innovation continues to happen. We advise you to give each year generously for internal contests such as best product suggestion, best-saving suggestion, winners of hackathons, and other similar initiatives so that the best ideas bubble up to management.
Finally, realize employees need courage to speak to people higher in the organization, whether it’s their boss, or someone much higher in the hierarchy. Provide ways for this to be possible, and visibly reward the courageous individuals who speak up, and offer ideas, and technology to make it happen.
Signs you are not following Patton’s Way, and that you need to change.
- No one volunteers for anything.
- There are no exciting projects, no risk-taking.
- People are afraid to criticize the products or services the company builds for fear of retribution.
- The processes and tools used favor bureaucratic decision-making, there is no risk-taking or real empowerment for the people doing the work.
- An ever expanding, never-shrinking bureaucracy.
- Evident boredom and time-wasting in the office. People pretend to work.
- Persecution, demotion, or bad consequences of those who dare to disagree with company ideas, or company management.
- A culture of yes-men, and yes-women. The negative side of the salaryman culture of Japan.
Here is the end of the chapter, comments welcome!