This blog talks a lot about two fundamental concepts at the intersection of human behavior and business decisions: the importance of a clear vision of wild success and a relentless focus on what is within your control.
James Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military official captured in the Vietnam War. He was imprisoned for years. He was eventually released and began to study and teach Stoicism. He and his wife wrote a book called In Love and War describing the experience.
Perhaps most importantly, at least for this post, he became the subject of part of Jim Collins’ Good to Great study of successful companies. From that research, the Stockdale Paradox emerged. The Paradox teaches that success is not based on wild, ungrounded optimism. It’s based on a dichotomy of confronting and working within the most brutal assessment of your constraints while simultaneously never wavering in your faith that you will prevail in the end. The Paradox encapsulates Stockdale’s attitude and approach to surviving his imprisonment.
Isn’t the Stockdale Paradox an essential key to business success? Work within reality, no matter how bad or harsh, but never waver in believing that you will find a way to succeed.
Stated differently: focus your time and energy on the things within your control, but also be crystal clear about what you want to be true in the end.
These ideas of combining harsh reality with faith in your ability to succeed are millennia old. They find their roots, no surprise, in the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers and Stoics.
The path to business success is paved with paradoxes: the obstacle is the way, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and yes, have a clear vision of success while focusing on the reality of what is within your control.
If you wish to be successful in professional or personal endeavors, this is a critical place to start. Ask two questions: what would unconstrained, wild success look like, and what is within my control to move closer to that vision? Then act.
Vision and what you control. Outcomes and actions. Reality and unwavering faith. Essential keys to success.
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