She’s demanding candy, to be clear.
Patience might just be the most difficult virtue. When something is wrong or uncomfortable, all we want to do is fix it. That’s understandable. But really big problems often require a lot of time, effort, and digging in to fix.
You Can’t Win a War Without a Plan
Allied victory in World War II is still one of the greatest political turnarounds in world history. Germany and Japan had their run of Europe, Africa, and the Pacific when the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union started to work together to push them back. But it didn’t happen quickly. To a lot of regular folks (including the conquered peoples waiting to be freed), the Allies barely seemed to be doing anything.
This didn’t happen overnight.
The wait between the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7th, 1941) and the decisive turning point in the war on D-Day and the beaches of Normandy (June 6, 1944) was 912 days. Sure, we fought the Japanese one island at a time in the Pacific. And we fought the Germans over the deserts of North Africa. But everyone back home knew this was nibbling at the edges of the empires. The big hammer blow had to drop carefully, and at the right time.
You Can’t Grow Your Business Without a Plan Either
When you see something in your business or even your personal life that needs to change, it may not be possible to solve it quickly. Personal habits and corporate culture are some of the hardest things in life to change! Entire businesses exist to make that kind of change easier. So don’t be surprised when it’s harder than you think.
The good news is it’s not impossible. People change habits and work culture all the time. It’s just not easy. It takes time to figure out what the real problem is. It also takes time to figure out what new actions, values, or processes will actually solve it. So cultivate a little patience. Would you wait 912 days to solve a problem for the rest of your career? Hopefully you won’t have to wait that long! But if you think you need help solving whatever thorny problem is in front of you, give us a call. We’d love to help.