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NonsenseAtWork

What Do You Do When the Going Gets Tough?

Published 23 days ago • 1 min read

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What Do You Do When the Going Gets Tough?

Trigger Question #19

“When the going gets tough, I recalculate route.” The Chief Nonsense Officer.

Times are tough. And yet, each generation believes its time was the toughest. (As in, “When I was your age…”) But that's about tough in the general, not tough in the specific. Like the tough week you've just had. Now that's specific!

I know, I know. We must define and agree on what tough is. Because tough for me might be peanuts to you. But let's assume we agree on what tough is, because I don't want to talk about what it is. I want to focus on what tough does.

Apparently, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. How do you interpret the part about the tough get going?

You might believe that it means the tough will get involved, roll up their sleeves, and jump into the detail to fix the problem. (If that’s you, then you aim to be the strong one.)

Or you might think that it means the tough will run like the wind, away from the tricky situation. (If that’s what you believe, then you are the cynical one.)

But there's another option. One that every leader should master.

When the going gets tough, more than at any other time, you must get high. You must rise above the detail to get a better view of the situation. If you don't, you will only see the battle you are in, the one you are fighting now. But you won't see the war.

So, when the going gets tough, the tough get high... to understand what the war is all about. (If this is you, then you are the wise one.)

Now ask yourself, how did you instinctively behave the last time the going got tough? What was your gut reaction? If you evaluate your past reaction honestly, you might pleasantly surprise yourself the next time the going gets tough.

Because what the tough do right begins with a mindset that is already primed.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.

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I boost careers by helping people deal with the nonsense of pleasing a boss, playing nice with colleagues, making subordinates productive, and living a life. Read more​

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NonsenseAtWork

James McIntosh - Boosting Careers since 1990

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