“Wise executives tailor their approach to fit the complexity of the circumstances they face” David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone
7 March 2023, 8.12pm, Lagos. I had just gotten off the phone speaking with a work colleague and promising I would review and send in comments on a Project which had to be delivered by the next day. My buy-in and input were critical to the success of the Project. I promised to revert before midnight.
7 March 2023, 9.43pm, Lagos. I sat at my home workstation, put on the table lamp and opened my laptop to focus on the Target Corporation Case with the intent to read through the 14-page document in 15 minutes and draw up my draft analysis of the case using the PrOACT model we use to support our analysis of all cases. I armed my mind with the speed-reading techniques we were thought and started to read. By my estimation, I would finish my analysis before 11pm, then keep my promise to revert to my office colleague before midnight and get to bed soon after.
8 March 2023, 12.15pm, Lagos. I opened my eyes and at first, was startled! I was still sitting at my home workstation and had “enjoyed” an over 2-hour nap, even though it was not in the comfort of my bed. I checked my phone. My work colleague had called twice and left a voice note reiterating the urgency of her request. My earlier attempt as scribbling some notes on the Target case only had two words “Target Corporation”. It was clear I was tired from the pressures of office and school work but I knew I had to keep pressing on. I sighed and asked myself the usual rhetorical question all #EMBA28 students have been asking themselves in the last couple of weeks… I quickly got to work to deliver on the two tasks before me.
In the course of the day, I consciously went back to look at the definition of Resilience. Three definitions and the words I emphasised in them gave me new meaning.
“The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
“… both the process and the outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences”
“Having the mental, emotional, and behavioural flexibility and ability to adjust to both internal and external demands”
I also found some interesting things about the origin of the word, one being that the term resilience was introduced into the English language in the early 17th Century from the Latin verb resilire, meaning to rebound or recoil.
The pressures that coming with the learning at LBS can only be overcome through resilience. The last few days has tested the measure of resilience in each #EMBA28 student. As we wind down our intensive week, it would be prudent to reflect on how we can adapt to our new realities and make sustainable adjustments – not an easy task I dare say, but we must give it our best shot.
The ultimate measure of resilience is for each person to rebound, and I know we can.
htuR #EMBA28
How to apply Linear Regression in Human Resources