“If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it around. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don’t say embrace trouble; that’s as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say meet it as a friend, for you’ll see a lot of it and you had better be on speaking terms with it.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Note that he states not to embrace trouble, like you really want it. Or jump in to it and stay there for a long time and keep going back over it again and again. But, do be on good terms with trouble since you will have it in your life. Think about how much more difficult it would be to solve problems or deal with challenges if you had had none to practice with!
In this month’s (Dec 6, 2010 – sorry, no link on line) Fortune magazine there is a great article about Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO. He is also on their cover as the Fortune 2010 “Business Person of the Year.” Hastings encourages debates and appreciates negative comments to make him better, “I think it is healthy to have smart people make a number of negative arguments about Netflix. It sharpens our thinking.” Many of those smart people had stated that he would be out of business within the first year. He goes on to say, “For me the thrill is making a contribution by solving hard problems.” The article also gives some background on how he shifted from a very confrontational style of debate to a more coach-like (my words) approach, “When he hears ideas that seem too silly, he doesn’t roll his eyes. Instead he digs deeper. He’ll respond, “I don’t understand why you think that is smart. Help me understand that.”
Hasting’s appreciation for criticism and approach to his team’s ideas that do not make sense to him are great examples of making a friend out of trouble. When you receive criticism or have a problem that is challenging you, keep in mind what you are learning and how you are making a difference and remember that you will always have trouble so make it your friend. It is so much better than embracing it or making it your enemy which will just make it bigger and more of an obstacle on your path to success.
Please share your example of making trouble a friend in a comment.
Post note: My favorite boy, Oliver, is in the picture. He also answers to “Trouble,” from all of his encounters as a younger dog. That is a desert mouse looking in at him through the window by our front door. I guess you could say one of my best friends is “Trouble” (with four legs and a sweet disposition).
Reference post:
“Stretching for Leadership Growth” – Oct 2009
Great post, Paula!