Fear is the friend of the exceptional
I find it interesting that the overwhelming narrative is that these are challenging times.
And while I agree, there is a multitude of additional challenges that exist, I’m much more interested in taking the perspective of finding the opportunity, and working through a challenge.
Two points I want to anchor in here;
What period of our lives presented zero challenges? There have always been problems to solve, they just range in their severity and complexity.
If given the same market conditions - why are some businesses paralysed by change, and why do others thrive through change?
Perspective, is an incredible tool if used well.
So is fear.
Cus D’Amato is largely credited with creating the legend that was Mike Tyson.
In his prime, Tyson could hit harder, move faster and intimidate even the most seasoned opponents with just a stare in their direction.
However, behind the scenes, Tyson had bouts of crippling fear before fights.
Most notably, when he was hunched over in tears, just minutes before a fight at the Junior Olympics, (he later won by knockout in 8 seconds, btw).
Over time, he learnt to use this emotion to awaken the giant within him, as he skyrocketed to the top of the boxing world.
It started with understanding fear, and his Mr D’Amato’s definition is one of my favourites;
“Fear is like fire.
You can make it work for you:
It can warm you in winter, cook your food when you’re hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy.
Let it go out of control and it can hurt you…
Fear is a friend of exceptional people”.
This isn’t some off the cuff inspirational statement, there is science behind the relationship of fear and excitement.
Our relationship and awareness with both emotions is a major reason for our ability to make decisions that are either from a place of ‘surviving’ or ‘thriving’.
We are so conditioned to fear ‘fear’ itself, that we judge the emotion, and allow it to affect our decision making, holding us back from creating opportunity, and keeping us in the monotony of doing what we’ve always done (or as close to that line as we are legally allowed to).
In the marketing world, this typically presents itself as businesses that sacrifice profit margin to price for ‘everybody’, and those that rely on word of mouth and referrals to keep their business’s fire stoked.
So, what happens when market conditions and volume dries up?
What happens when referral partners slow down, go out of business, or when word of mouth passes around slower than usual?
These questions can create a negative emotional response, or they can create excitement in identifying an opportunity in solving a problem that can cripple any business.
Having a new perspective around fear can change your life, it certainly has with mine, especially when I came to find that there is very little physiological difference between fear and excitement.
The physiological side of the fear and excitement relationship has to do with the limbic system in the brain, which includes the amygdala (fight or flight response), and hippocampus (memory, learning, and emotions), both of which connect with the hypothalamus, which controls the body’s response to stress.
Side note - for those of you that don’t know - my university education was a Business Major in Marketing, and a Psychology Major in Behavioural Science.
The secret in all of this, is to recognise and unpack the emotions, we can actually harness this and point in any direction we like.
It is incredibly freeing to recognise that our understanding of stimulus, and the control of the space we have in our response to it, can completely change our trajectory in overcoming situations.
As one of my favourite thinkers, Viktor Frankl, famously put it;
“Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
For those unfamiliar with his work, Viktor Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning from his experience while in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.
So how does this relate to strategic planning?
Strategy is often confused as being a long document, with a list of tasks, that latch onto an ever-growing, to-do list.
Many businesses have attempted to put together ‘business plans’ and ‘marketing campaigns’, only to allow them to create digital dust in long-forgotten folder on their central files or computer.
However, in the execution, they freeze, or they are too reactionary.
They only think in a linear fashion.
There is no contingency plan, option b, or higher level thinking used to adapt to the issue at hand.
So they stop entirely, and stay in gray twilight (more on this here)
When there is new stimulus (i.e. interruption), how does this affect the response?
Is the decision made from a place of fear - with a commitment to sticking to the status quo;
Or does it enact a feeling of excitement, understanding that this ALL reveals an opportunity for progression.
Having a strategy allows you to create space for the right framework of adaptive decision making.
You HAVE to buffer in the fact that not everything will go to plan, but there is an overarching orientation that will guide you through your next step.
Part of going on the journey of building great marketing strategy, is understanding that the body (or business), will only go as far as the mind will allow it.
Further, the business will only grow as far as the leader will allow it.
It is entirely easy to ‘wait’ for a normal to re-emerge.
We cannot rely on our usual methods of creating demand and generating opportunities.
Take this time to strategise - it will give you a resounding confidence that permeates through your marketing activities, and sales conversations.
Don’t let the fear of losing, be greater than the excitement of winning
It is time to step forward into the new arena - with the strategy and tenacity to emerge victorious.
Zac
Ps. this is not written from a frame that I don’t feel fear, or I don’t feel stress, and I all of a sudden love public speaking (I don’t), but I have found this awareness has helped me (and my clients), so much when creating their foundation for decision making in their marketing (i.e. developing strategy).