Last month our electricity was completely off for three days (this meant no heat, no refrigeration, no cooking, no water, and no internet!) due to an ice storm that brought trees and power lines down. Ken and I decided to stay in our home instead of a hotel because we didn’t want our pipes or our pets to freeze. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we knew we could make do with each other and help from others.
We heated the house – not well, but adequately – with the fireplace. We dressed in layers and made sure our pets stayed warm. We went to sleep on the floor by the fireplace when sundown came. We ate the food we had on hand and went to restaurants for some meals. I used my smart phone for email and calls and charged it in the car. I spent two mornings at a coffee shop enjoying a warm environment, beverage, and using their wi-fi. We visited our daughter’s apartment to take showers.
We were able to be pragmatic about using the resources at hand and doing what we could. It was a lot of extra work and planning, but together, we made do. The best part was that we had each other, a daughter nearby, and a supportive friend who said “whatever I have is yours to share”, offering us a warm house to stay if we wished.
Most of your leadership life, you too will have to make do in some way. You won’t always have enough money in the budget, all the knowledge or skills you need, or a sympathetic manager. You can complain forever about what you don’t have. Look around and you’ll find that you have people around who are willing to support you if you just ask.
You have good employees: You may not have enough of them, but you do have some employees who are good to great performers. Are you including them in discussions about what you can do? Are you using them to their fullest potential?
You have peers who can help: Creating great relationships with your peers today puts you in a position to call on them when you need their assistance in the future. Who do you need to get to know better? Which of your peers needs your help now?
You have yourself: You are resourceful and can find a way to “make do” with what you have. And you know that if you make do today, tomorrow will be even better. What will it take for you to gain the courage to do what needs to be done under less than ideal circumstances? What will making do mean for the future of your organization?
My husband and I learned a lot through this experience. We learned to count on each other and to work together with what we had. We learned we had family and a kind friend who were willing to help.
Instead of dragging yourself and others down by focusing on what you don’t have – consider the relationships you have to work with, and make do!
Very inspiring life story! We should all adopt such positive perspective when facing challenges. I also think that trust between people is crucial. Without trust, one would never ask for support. Thank you for sharing!
There’s a lot of wisdom in this post, both from a leadership and life perspective. We should all try to create better relationships and utilize the people resources around us.
Xuan, I don’t believe that trust – as an observed phenomenon- is necessary for all kinds of “making do”. In our own personal story shared here, we would appreciated the help even if we didn’t know for sure if we could trust the person offering it. In certain times, we just need to believe that we can trust someone even if we don’t know for sure that we can. Thanks!
Erik, I believe leadership and life to be very connected. And yes, we need to be willing to ask others to assist, or at least to accept it when offered (something I’m personally working on doing!). Thanks.
It is a great lesson for any aspect of our life including work! To be able to use the resources we have and help from the network we have and be able to get over a difficult situation is something we all have to learn. Even at work the leader does not have to do it all alone…As you said colleagues, employees often have great ideas and it would be highly beneficial to include them in finding a solution. It might even lead to something new.
Thank you for sharing Mary Jo! What an inspiring story. I think you are right…we always have something to work with and if we focus on what we do have instead of what we don’t we can be more effective. Life is always better when you look at the glass as half full instead of half empty.
Nandini, We are certainly a culture of independents, those who can “pick themselves up by their bootstraps” alone! Its part of our heritage, and it can be hard to ask for help (I suffer from this affliction myself). Thanks!
Dana, thanks. Sometimes its hard to be a “glass half full” person, but when times get tough, I like to ask “who can help me?”. People want to help. Sometimes we just need to ask. Thanks!
I want to start my own business within a few years, and it’s a daunting task to say the least. But I have been meeting some new friends who have already been through all that, and they readily offer the benefit of their experiences. It’s so comforting to know that there are folks out there who want to help. We all need a hand from time to time, and someday I will be thrilled to pay it forward to another entrepreneur.
I really like this post. Sometimes we just focus on those we do not have, neglecting those we already have and failing to creat new stuff with those we already possess. I think to some extent, it is just an excuse we found for ourselves not fully complete our task. It is somewhat a passive attitude. We need to avoid it and try to keep positive.