Arguing with Reality

“You’re free to argue with reality. Just know you’ll only lose 100% of the time.”

Cy Wakeman – author, business coach

Question 1: Have you ever been in a situation like one or more of the following?

• A customer you feel you’ve gone the extra mile for, maybe multiple times, move their business to a competitor?

• A formerly great product or service you’re emotionally tied to that’s had shrinking sales for years?

• Ungrateful employees who seem to complain more than they produce?

• A competitor with a new and improved twist on a product or service that’s giving you fits?

• Regulations you see as unfair or just plain dumb?

• An economy that just won’t give you a break?

Question 2: What do you do when you run headlong into situations like this?

The examples above and many more are instances where you can end up arguing with reality. The problem as so eloquently stated by Ms. Wakeman above is that you’ll only lose 100% of the time. For many of us it’s normal to want to resist. It’s our will, our ego, up against that ‘nebulous something’ that thwarts our best efforts at every turn. That ‘something’ often turns out to be reality.

Reality is the immovable object. We fight it at our peril. Companies, nations even empires have fought it to the bitter end convincing themselves all along their beliefs were right. One doesn’t have to look far for examples of companies who either ignored or intentionally fought the reality of their situation. Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1977. They saw where the world was heading but couldn’t convince themselves to develop it at the expense of their film business. With roughly 70% market share and making margins approaching 70% it was their film business they tried to protect to the very end.

Companies like TWA, American Motors, Hostess, Lionel, Pan Am, Montgomery Wards to name just a few at one time controlled resources and assets most of us can only imagine. Yet today they’re used as examples of companies that either fought or ignored reality to their ultimate detriment. At last count there are only 57 of the original Fortune 500 companies still in the top 500. The span of 64 years since it was first created seems like a long time. However when you think about the assets a company has to be one of the top 500 in the world it’s amazing that less than 12% of them are still in the group. As mentioned, for many, it’s not only not being in the group but ceasing to exist all together.

So how do you, as the head of your business make sure you’re reading reality’s tea leaves correctly? The first thing to realize is it’s a very complex world out there with a lot of moving parts. I know that sounds like a simplistic statement but it’s amazing how often we think we have a handle on what’s going on only to get blindsided. The world is way too complex for any one person or even group of people to completely get their arms around.

Here are a few points that may help your thinking on this:

• Linear thinking – When we think in a linear fashion, looking for cause and effect, we narrow our thinking to a small set of variables. While we may have knowledge of some of the causes, often we miss others. Looking at the world from a systems perspective can help. Knowing that we don’t know it all can be tough to admit. Acknowledging that there might be things going on we don’t fully understand is a step in the right direction.

• Open to others insights – Finding others who have a different perspective or experiences can give us insights to a problem we may not have seen before. There’s never a guarantee though that their visibility into the reality of a situation is any better. Your job as the leader is to get as many perspectives as you need then separate the wheat from the chaff.

• Competent people – When asking for others thoughts know that you’re just getting their opinion on how they see a situation. Making sure your people are as competent as they can be in their respective jobs will give you more confidence in the opinions you’re receiving.

Ultimately you’ll never know all the variables at play. All it takes is for one person or one company to challenge traditional thinking and whole industries can change. Walmart figured out that distribution was key. Amazon makes ease of use their biggest competitive advantage. What you want is to get as clear of picture of the “reality” of any situation as you can knowing you’ll never know it all. Then make a decision and move forward. If it looks like your decision isn’t working, have the courage to learn from what reality is telling you, then kill it quick.

When you know reality wins 100% of the time, why challenge it? Let your competitors argue with it and use it as your competitive advantage.