Success is not sexy
As the final game of the World Cup wound up today, I was reminded of how strikingly “un-sexy” many successful strategies have become in an age of mature competitive markets.
The “relentless resourcefulness” of the Spanish team on the fútbol pitch was limited in scope and inventiveness, but deep in tactical options and heavily steeped in discipline and patience. Spain’s tiki-taka certainly isn’t the “pretty” fútbol of the juga bonito of yesteryear’s Brazilian team, but it’s technically sound and was superbly executed (and it certainly undermined the legacy, or what’s left, of Oranje Machine’s Totaalvoetbal).
Likewise, entrepreneurial success can no longer be reached simply by the next great idea or innovation, but rather by some very fundamental “passing and tackling” (“blocking and tackling” for those of you who are fans of the other football).
Sure, we can still see the mercurial rise of this or that initiative, but, by and large, it takes everyday, constant, fundamental effort (what Prof. Escalante called “ganas!“) to win in world competition. What this looks like, in everyday terms, is decidedly unattractive: it’s ensuring, in real, tangible terms, that every effort, every day, builds value for your clients, unerringly, constantly, relentlessly…
If we were paid solely on ideas or creativity, many of us would be rich. It is truly through the “blood, sweat and tears of hard work” that the majority succeed. It takes both skill and perserverence
Unfortunately the stories of the difficulties and hard work to be successful don’t sell as well as the formulaic “three steps to instant success”…that yes, might be successful for the person selling it, but not necessarily for those buying.
Faith Fuqua-Purvis, Elephant Whisperer & Lionhearted Change Agent
November 15, 2011 at 10:19 pm