I just watched a 30-second video clip of a most bizarre ending to a high school softball game.
These 30 seconds provide a fantastic hyper-speed-tutorial in resilience that applies to every leader who ever plans to do something great.
Whenever you stretch for a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG), obstacles, failures and surprises are mandatory.
The BHAG for both softball teams was winning their District Championship. Finesse and talent is rarely the differentiator between winners and losers.
What separates the wishers from the winners is how they recover from the inevitable setback, aka, resilience.
Resilience has at least two dimensions that matter:
- How much can you recover. Do you bounce back by 10%? 75% 100% — or even more than 100%? Do you help others recover?
- How fast can you recover. Do you languish in the loss or do you bounce back rapidly?
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Speaking of YOUR big game…. the EARLY ENROLLMENT DEADLINE for the online Mind to Win™ program is tomorrow night. |
In the case of this softball game, both HOW MUCH and HOW FAST mattered.
Both teams thought the game was over. But the team that realized it could keep playing AND who recovered more and faster won the game. Sounds like life, right?
I watched the video over and over, isolating on one player at a time. It’s fascinating to watch how each player responded — how much and how fast. Here’s the clip. It’s worth your 30 seconds.
If you don’t want a play-by-play, skip this greyed-in section.
| The team on the field was up 6 to 4 in the bottom of the final inning with two outs. They could win the game and the tournament.
The losing team was at bat with the bases loaded. The batter hit an easy grounder to the shortstop who threw it to second base to force out the runner from first as she slid into the bag. That’s when everything went crazy. For a moment, both teams assumed incorrectly that the runner had been called out and the game was over. The team on the field began a wild celebration while the team at bat collapsed in defeat — for a moment. Then the 3rd base coach got the runners to keep running and the coaches of the partying infielders eventually got them to realize the ball was still in play. The runner from first base slid into home just as the left fielder grabbed the ball and ran to the plate to tag her out, a split second too late. Game over. Another celebration ensued. |
This game is a time-compressed version of leading massive change.
If you’re doing big work, you’re going to fall and fail. It’s all new territory. Your plans never hold up to full contact with the real world. You’re going to get stuck and get confused and get annoyed.
Messiness and confusion are a given. What matters is:
- How much will you recover?
- How fast will you recover?
Sometimes, it’s almost imperceptible that you’ve stumbled.
Hopefully, you will know for yourself. But extra eyes can help.
In the video, coaches from both teams saw that their players had quit too soon, and they got their players back in the game. Who are your trusted eyes and ears to show you when you’ve tripped?
How much and how fast you recover is 100% in your control.
Focus on one area where you’re stretching and ask yourself these questions:
- How prepared am I to recover the next time I strike out?
- How am I building my resilience muscles now for the next time I swing for the fences and miss?
Step up to the plate. You’ve got this.
The Mind to Win program teaches successful leaders how to beef up their resilience muscles so they’re prepared to win the championship. The early enrollment discount ends tomorrow night — sign up now. Mind to Win kicks off May 17 with quick-start pre-work available now.
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