| Whatever your endeavor, the path to achieving | | | | them to recover quickly - all because they have |
| your goals is rarely a smooth ride straight to your | | | | prepared in advance of the emergency. These |
| destination. More often than not, you will | | | | kinds of recovery plans are routinely done in |
| encounter some significant setbacks along the | | | | information technology environments, but they |
| way. This is more true today than it has been for | | | | can also be done in any kind of organization. You |
| a long time. Turn on the news and you will hear | | | | can even do this for yourself by deliberately |
| about the financial crisis, high unemployment, and | | | | thinking ahead about what you would do if A, B, |
| challenges from global competitors. This says | | | | or C happened. |
| nothing of the more serious issues like terrorism, | | | | Practice for the unexpected: Nothing will substitute |
| but fortunately for most of us, this does not | | | | for practice in developing the ability to be resilient. |
| significantly impact our daily lives unless you or | | | | The military does this extremely well with battle |
| your family are in the military. Nevertheless, | | | | drills and realistic training. They expect bad things |
| whatever challenges you face in striving for | | | | to happen in combat, but practice and repetition |
| success, you need to be able to deal with | | | | makes it less likely that soldiers will panic and |
| setbacks and difficulties when they arise. This | | | | freeze up in battle. For those who have seen the |
| ability to overcome obstacles is called resilience, | | | | movie, Saving Private Ryan, the opening scene on |
| and it is a critical skill especially for leaders. When | | | | the beach as they gather near the seawall |
| your organization runs into trouble, the rest of the | | | | provides a good example of a resilient leader who |
| team looks to the leader. If the leader is not | | | | relies on his prior training. As the Rangers were |
| resilient, then, the rest of the team will have | | | | taking fire from the Germans above them, recall |
| trouble working through the challenges unless | | | | that the leader, Captain Miller, remains calm and |
| someone else steps up to fill the void. So how | | | | quickly assesses the situation. He instructs his |
| can you become more resilient? Here are three | | | | men to "gather weapons and ammo" from their |
| tips: | | | | dead and wounded comrades. He then executes |
| Change your thinking: When faced with an | | | | their battle drill to breach the barbed wire obstacle |
| unexpected disaster, do you think about what | | | | with a Bangalore torpedo, and follows up by |
| caused it and why this happened to me; or do | | | | leading his men through the breach in the wire. He |
| you stop and think to assess the situation and | | | | then executes a plan to draw fire on a few of his |
| then develop some positive courses of action to | | | | men who momentarily expose themselves to the |
| move forward? Your answer this question will | | | | enemy which allows others to move into a more |
| depend in large part on your mindset. Are you | | | | favorable position from which they can silence the |
| someone who routinely looks backward and | | | | German machine guns. Although this is just a |
| dwells on the past, or are you someone who | | | | movie, it is a realistic depiction of how a highly |
| more often looks forward to the future? | | | | trained unit would react to the most adverse |
| Forward-looking people will more easily | | | | conditions in combat in order to achieve their |
| demonstrate resilience naturally, but everyone can | | | | objective. This is typical of the type of battle drill |
| learn to be more effective in dealing with | | | | that they would practice in training prior to landing |
| adversity simply by changing their mindset. For | | | | on the beach. Thankfully most of us will not |
| example, if John lost his job and he spends | | | | endure such a life threatening situation, but the |
| several months blaming himself and others for | | | | teaching point here is that intense training and |
| what happened, he is not being resilient. Reacting | | | | practice is the key to preparing soldiers for dealing |
| to a job loss in this way will not only foster a | | | | with hardships of combat. That's what makes |
| negative attitude, but also slow him down on | | | | them resilient. Commercial airline pilots are also |
| taking the necessary steps to find another job; | | | | good examples of people who demonstrate |
| however, John can control his mindset and think | | | | resilience in emergency situations. It was the |
| about this as an opportunity rather than dwell on | | | | training and years of experience that paid off in a |
| the past. I recognize that this is easy say, but | | | | few brief moments for Captain "Sully" |
| much more difficult to do in practice. | | | | Sullenberger and his crew. It allowed him to calmly |
| Nevertheless, by consciously focusing on the | | | | assess the situation when his engines lost power |
| future and asking yourself what can I control and | | | | shortly after take-off from LaGuardia airport in |
| what positive steps I can take, you will naturally | | | | NYC and make an emergency landing in the |
| become more resilient. You will bounce back more | | | | Hudson River. Without intense prior practice in |
| quickly than if you harbor lingering feelings about | | | | flight simulators and his deep experience as a pilot, |
| how you were mistreated by your prior | | | | this "miracle on the Hudson" could have just as |
| employer. Either way, you will still be unemployed, | | | | easily ended in tragedy. Instead, he was resilient in |
| but by looking to the future, your chances of | | | | the face of adversity. |
| success will improve dramatically. | | | | So if you want to develop the ability to be |
| Prepare for the unexpected: Ask yourself what | | | | resilient yourself, you must work at it just like |
| are some likely scenarios that could happen in the | | | | any other skill. Think forward and change your |
| future that I can prepare for by creating some | | | | approach to adversity. Develop likely scenarios |
| contingency plans? Some people will advise you | | | | that you or your organization might face, and plan |
| that worrying about possible future catastrophes | | | | in advance how to respond to the situation. Even |
| is wasted time and energy because most of | | | | if the actual circumstances are different from the |
| these will not come to fruition; however, that | | | | scenarios that you plan for, the planning sequence |
| doesn't mean that that the planning is not | | | | itself will allow you to more quickly think through |
| worthwhile. If you are a corporate leader in a | | | | the situation and react in a more resilient way. |
| major corporation since 9/11, you will know that | | | | Finally, either conduct realistic practice sessions or |
| many companies now have prepared disaster | | | | simply do a virtual practice by imagining your |
| plans. Some have done it better than others with | | | | response. Whether you find yourself suddenly |
| more detailed plans, but most companies that | | | | unemployed, losing a key customer, or dealing |
| have prepared plans will be more resilient in a | | | | with a more serious tragedy like illness or death in |
| disaster because they have thought about what | | | | the family, you will be more resilient if you can fall |
| to do in advance. They are also likely to have put | | | | back on your preparation. As a leader, you will be |
| some things in place that will be important for | | | | much more effective if you are resilient. |