Resilience – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

The capability behind every other capability

Last week’s post was about consistency. Today I’m thinking about resilience, about habits, and about how habits and actions together set the direction of things. It’s hard to believe that a clear purpose alone will make everything happen. Turning anything we want into reality takes a heavy dose of effort, of doing the homework. Still, the hardest part of achieving something is resilience: the ability to get back on track, to stay consistent when nothing seems to be happening, the habit that lets us find our course again and again. Energy and effort matter, but they come easier. So what feeds resilience? How do we build such an important capability?

Habits come from action, and action comes from intention. So every action starts with a clear purpose, a vision of the future. The key to action is recognizing what’s in our hands, and the clearest way to see everything we can do or improve starts with rational analysis. In strategic planning, where there are models upon models, a classic is the SWOT, which identifies the actions available on different fronts. The big problems with action are, first, not knowing where it will take us and, second, not seeing what’s in our hands. Actions also need a logical order. We can’t expect to do everything in a single day or a single moment. Action, then, is the first great element of resilience. People who always act are always building the habit of resilience, and they always find their course again.

Resilience also depends on intentions and on the support we can offer others. Resilient companies are the ones that, in their most critical and difficult moments, have channeled their people’s worries into clear intentions that foster support, calm and, above all, a vision of a future where things will most likely carry on. If the ship instead shows signs of sinking (as has probably happened before, with everyone fending for themselves at the first sign of trouble), the whole crew will be the first to jump, starting with the captain. Resilience isn’t built overnight. Like any good capability or habit, it depends on steady daily action and on knowing how to do the right thing. Resilience never goes out of style. It’s timeless, and once it’s part of an institution’s DNA, it becomes one of its core pillars.

A resilient person knows that everything depends on their ability to respond to whatever happens. Events themselves decide very little. In other words, they’re very clear on the difference between what happens and how they respond. The same goes for a team. What lies within its power is giving everything to reach its goals: first by identifying what’s in its hands, then by knowing what can be improved, and finally by putting all its talent, effort and dedication into staying focused on what it controls. When we’re desperate for clarity, it’s because we haven’t identified what’s in our hands, so any decision we make is likely to fall short. In those moments, resilience lets us trust in acting on what’s always within our control.

Some of the best examples of resilience are found in nature and in children. Who is your example of resilience?

A hug and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. I dedicate this post to Professor Isidro Matamoros, may he rest in peace. A great professor at my alma mater, Zamorano, and a man who learned, and then instilled in us, one of the great values our alma mater has always believed in and proclaimed: LABOR OMNIA VINCIT, "Work conquers all." Above all, he taught us to build resilience in one of the places that shows no mercy when there’s no action, no effort, when the right thing isn’t done and when we fail to respond by doing what’s in our hands: THE FIELD. May God receive you in His glory, dear Doc. Thank you for so much in so little time. Always intercede for us. A hug to his dear family and to his extended Zamorano family, who remember him today with great affection, gratitude and admiration.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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