Power Play: Fortune favours the brave

There’s an old Croatian saying my parents passed on that roughly translates as ‘shut your eyes tightly and jump’.

Power Players know that all the research, workshops and resilience training in the world can never replace a courageous decision.

It turns out that brave is in short supply in corporate Australia. I’m not talking kamikaze here but simply about the courage it takes to make a firm, concrete decision and see it through.

Obfuscating is not a character trait that Power Players possess. They know that at some point they need to close their eyes tightly and jump into the unknown.

The most accomplished Power Players have given up on absolute answers and certainty – there’s no such thing in life. They learn to trust their instincts to make the last 10% of that jump to the other side.

Try it the next time you need to make a brave decision.

The story

I’m in a meeting with a guy who runs a promotions company. He’s pitching to become the primary supplier of promotional gear for a major Australian sporting league.

The head guy from the sporting organisation has an idea for a particular product he’d like to feature on their website that my guy knows nothing about. It’s clear that the deal is on the line.

My guy says, ‘Absolutely, we can get that product for you. We’ll work it out, whatever you need.’

Of course, he had no idea where to source the product and, if he could source the product, if he could get it in time. I loved the way he dived in without a safety net because he had absolute faith that he could work it out.

Diving in makes it fun and is one of the things that stretch you.