Studies have shown that about 60% of CEO’s do not recover from significant adversity or setbacks. When they fall, they frequently retire completely or take low key Board roles. It is a rather scary statistic for those who are “holding the reins,” as it were. (The reasons for folding are too numerous to cover here (one of the big reasons is that they struggle with negative feedback- which is actually a gift!)………but then there are those who prevail……for example………
One owner went bust due to completely unforeseeable circumstances. He was forced to lay off hundreds and was nine months behind on his office rent. But he kept going even though he woke up every day, for two months straight, with nose bleeds. Not that long ago, he turned down an offer for his company in the billions.
Another outstanding executive started out life being born to an un-wed teenager. Repeatedly accosted by family members, she relentlessly kept a razor-sharp focus, completed college on a full scholarship and went on to be worth billions. Still another confided to me that his business almost went bankrupt five times and, in his words, he had to “hang on like crazy” before it finally took off.
Clearly, resilience and resolve count, and count a lot. Interestingly, research has shown that one of the reasons that some high-performing executives never give up is due to having made a solemn promise to themselves or to others. With that promise always in their mind’s eye, it helps them to keep on pushing forward – no matter what! And then they keep on going after achieving the pinnacle. At the best of times, exceling in business is a fight. At the worst moments, it feels like a fight to the death! In today’s crazy world, for the most part, you really only have one choice. Never give up!
Born exactly 122 years ago this month, Golda Meir was known to her colleagues as the “strong-willed, straight-talking, grey-haired grandmother of Israel.
