Cocktails with Carl
The Importance of Mental Toughness (Grit) in an Entrepreneurial Company
About 10 years ago, Angela Duckworth delivered a famous Ted Talk on the topic of grit. It’s only 6 minutes long, but with over 25 million views it sits in the top 20 most viewed Ted Talks of all time. If you have not seen it, I would encourage you to give it a watch.
In her presentation, Duckworth explains the extensive research she did to try and find out who would be the most successful when placed in the most challenging settings.Think cadets in a military academy or teachers in inner city schools. Who would quit and who would endure in these tough environments, and why? What she found was that success really had no relation to the characteristics we normally think about first; social intelligence, IQ, good looks, or physical health. Instead, it ultimately came down to what she describes as “grit”, or, “passion and perseverance for long term goals”.
As an owner and leader of a small entrepreneurial company, I also consider our environment to be very challenging. We’re juggling a lot and we often ask our team members to take on more responsibility in relation to our opportunities. And since we take a number of risks, we ride the roller coaster of euphoric highs and demoralizing lows on a regular basis. That pressure and stress is not for everyone.
So….how do we know who has the mental toughness to fight through adversity and really thrive in our challenging environment? It’s almost impossible to predict. We can scour resumes, interview candidates and call references, but this process has no guarantees. Instead, we’ll most likely have to take a risk, make the hire, then effectively evaluate performance after the fact. Once you’re in that position, below are some characteristics of grit that you can effectively evaluate against.
Courage
Risk is inherent in an entrepreneurial environment and we need team members that are willing to make decisions without fearing failure. Without courage, we’d spend an inordinate amount of time on analysis hoping for a predictable outcome, paralyzing our ability to move forward.
Goal Oriented
Setting and achieving a defined list of goals is a sure sign of mental toughness. Goal oriented people are not satisfied with the status quo. There is always room for improvement and it takes a lot to throw them off course. Other beneficial attributes of goal setters are a sense of urgency and a high level of accountability.
Patience
I believe that grit has a time orientation to it-but it’s hard to define with exactness. In other words, a person that is apt to get antsy and move from job to job will tend to not have that mental toughness that we are looking for. We are seeking patient people that aren’t going to jump ship when the going gets tough or when a more comfortable offer comes along.
Resilience
As entrepreneurs we’re gonna get knocked down every now and then. A new product won’t sell, a customer will say no, or a financial decision will have unintended ramifications. The ability to bounce back from disappointment, undeterred is imperative. Embrace the challenges of competition!
Precise/meticulous
Can we have 100% control over avoiding failure? WIth the risks that we take as a company, probably not. But that also doesn’t give us an excuse to be careless in our work. We desire to have team members with the mental toughness to remain precise and focused in their work even in a more chaotic environment.
Even with a list of characteristics and a focus on finding people with these intangible qualities, grit remains elusive. We don’t know what the predictors are and we don’t necessarily have great ideas of how to instill it. What we do know, and what Duckworth also explains at the end of her Ted Talk, is that talent has almost no correlation with grit. So while we may encounter a candidate with the perfect level of experience, a student with the highest test scores, or an athlete with the greatest ability, it gives us no insight into the amount of grit they will have (we’ve all encountered someone we would describe as the most talented but least productive). So, if grit is the greatest predictor of success, that puts us in a real conundrum as leaders. What are we to do other than persevere and remain passionate in our search for passion and perseverance in others.
Good Luck!
Cocktail Recipe: The Fog Cutter
Famous cocktail invented at tiki bar Trader Vic’s
1 1/2 ozs White Rum
½ oz Gin
½ oz Brandy
2 ozs Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat (Almond Syrup)
½ oz Amontillado Sherry
1 Mint Sprig
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the white rum, gin, brandy, orange and lemon juices and orgeat and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and float the Amontillado sherry on top. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Enjoy!
