“Calmness is a superpower”
When you are training to jump out of a plane, the instructor will inevitably tell you,
When you are in a high-stress, fast-moving environment, and you must act, the urge to do it now, to do it fast, is unbearable.
But doing it fast, perhaps carelessly, is the last thing you can afford in that type of environment. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
Slow down, be deliberate, do it right. Ensure success from your actions. That is the most important thing.
This concept applies to running a business. How many times have we received horrible news? An important client is not paying or is leaving for the competition.
An employee has made a mistake costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A landlord has decided to change terms or revoke a contract.
The feeling of peril can be overwhelming. This is our business. Our family depends on it. It is a huge part of our identity, and in this moment, it feels threatened. We feel threatened. The urge to act, to do something, anything, is overwhelming. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
In those moments, I play a mental game. Which is the coolest character in every movie? Is it the one jumping around, impulsively making decisions? Or is it the calm and collected samurai? The unflappable gunslinger? The never-rattled special agent?
Calmness in the face of great stress is a superpower. This applies to our businesses as well as our lives.
He who can maintain his calmness in the face of great upheaval has already won. He has won the battle with himself, with his emotions. As the leader of a business, everyone is watching you. You set the tone.
The ability to be unflappable, to be Joe Montana leading a two-minute comeback, will calm your team and lead to the result you are looking for.