Your high school coach said so during those grueling practices. Most of the time you just wished she or he would lighten up. You wished that you were somewhere else. You didn’t like it. Yet, for sticking it out, for dealing with the burning muscles, insults, and drills, you performed better at the next competition. When you won, there was a sense of physical relief that you finished what the training had started. There was a mental one too: that the training wasn’t a waste. You also had a different perspective on the price of training than your classmates who never lettered.
This present economy is your high school coach. Besides what you’re enduring on the personal front, this coach is making it hard to find the same fun in what you’ve enjoyed over the years. Are you ready to put it on the line? Or are you going to keep your sweatpants on, watch and wait in hopes of the coach easing up on you? Your candidates, clients are taking mental notes as to what you do when times get tough. This is a drill “going big” or “going home”. Lead your team in doing laps or be ready to get lapped.
A couple of examples of folks who have “gone big”:
Starbucks “retrained” its employees to the basics before announcing a number of store closings. Refocusing on the craft (pun intended) of making coffee and espresso drinks would have been cheaper post-closures, yes. However, getting back to basics isn’t the first thought in most organizations.
Advertising firms getting creative to recruit for themselves.
I’ll have one more, early next week – Yahoo! and their story of how they went big during challenging times…
Do have a story? We’re all perspiring… let’s add some inspiration to the mix. 8~)
