Ben Franklin Was Wrong About This.

Ben Franklin was wrong.?

In a letter to his daughter dated January 26 1784, he claimed, “The Bald Eagle is a bird of bad moral character.” Further elaborating, “He does not get his living honestly.”?Franklin went on, “For the truth, the turkey is a much more respectable bird.”

While water skiing we frequently see eagles soaring over our slalom course. Every so often we see the striking spectacle of an eagle scoring a fish.?Truly a wonder of nature, how an eagle can circle at altitude, spot dinner, then swoop to catch a fish at the exact moment it's at the surface, and do so at speed, is pure aerial artistry.?Intrigued by eagles, I’ve repeatedly witnessed eagles catching ducks, muskrats and other game in addition to feasting on fish.??

Franklin saw the eagle as an opportunist, scavenging or stealing kills.?But the wider view shows scavenging as tool in the eagle’s versatile survival arsenal more so than the eagle’s primary modus operandi.

Today there are somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 Bald Eagles in the US.?Rendered nearly extinct, mating pairs dwindled to just 417 in 1963. By 2007 the Bald Eagle battled back to being removed from the endangered species list.?No longer endangered but still protected, the Bald Eagle is thriving.?

Herbert Hoover, the 31st President Of The United States, was an orphan who became one of the most successful businessmen of his era.?After graduating from Stanford in 1895, he spent 20 years in the mining business arranging financing deals and managing mining corporations.

By the time WWI erupted, Hoover had banked $4M, the equivalent of over $100M today.?Realizing his fortune could be put to good use, he started a food organization feeding over 10,000,000 people a day in Europe where the war had created a food crisis and ravaged the economy.?Recognized for his efforts, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover to lead the Food Administration when the US entered WW1 in 1917.?A war time favorite, Hoover was appointed Secretary of Commerce in 1920 to promote economic growth and job creation by the next President Warren Harding .?Universally liked, he kept the job under the following President, Calvin Coolidge.

Running for President in 1929 on the platform of, “We shall soon, with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation”, Hoover defeated Al Smith.?Within 6 months of taking office on March 4, 1929 the infamous stock market crash of 1929 occurred, demolishing the American economy and decimating Hoover’s prestige with it.?

Undeservedly, Hoover became the whipping boy for all things ailing America.?Although decisively defeated in 1932 by FDR, Hoover’s tarnished presidency was restored by various assignments from Presidents Truman and Eisenhower and he went on to enjoy one of the longest Presidential retirements of 31 years.?

Whether an eagle or a President, being maligned is the companion of success.?Think of the people in your life who are successful, they’ve surely got their fair share of detractors.?Haters covet the ability to think creatively, take risks, build an interesting life and they soak in the jealousy of being admired, respected and loved.?Nobody envies the hater.?For every soaring eagle there are a million chickens pointing out the safety of the barnyard and security of being anonymous.??

Aristotle accurately remarked, “Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing and being nothing.”?In business, simply by existing you’ll make some people unhappy.?And too often, hateful comments are borne of inaccurate perspectives formed with no or bad information.?

How do you turn critical news into fuel to accelerate your business??Consider the value of negative reports. They should inspire contemplations about:

1. Validating your victories.?Successes indicate alignment with your plan but they don't always mean everyone's happy.?If you didn’t get anyone’s attention, you’re bobbing in the sea of sameness where you don’t matter.?Being called out is a signal that you’re on the right path.?Think of Facebook, Exxon, Trump. Despite that they have vocal detractors, they also have millions of ardent followers.
2. Accountability.?Use negative feedback as a measuring tool to determine if a course correction is necessary.?Use the opportunity to reframe proper objectives, confirm the right path and get on it.?
3. Conflict resolution.?If you’re not working on how to become the depot of solutions, or the market leader in customer satisfaction or the key innovator in your space you’re not working hard enough on the problems infecting your business.
4. Noise control.?From the Zen perspective, your detractors are there for a reason.?Understanding that barking dogs attune you to filtering out the background, allowing you to focus on the future.
5. Motivation.?Marcus Aurileus said the best revenge agains those against you is simply to not be like that.?Take the high road, do what’s right and work toward becoming a beacon of success instead of being dragged down into the critic’s cesspool.

If you want to soar like an eagle you’re going to have to distinguish yourself from the barnyard chickens.?Hear?the noise as a signal to align correctly with your customers and fulfillment of business objectives.?Even if you get a wicked tarnishing like Hoover, remember in the long game he emerged victorious and is among the elite, fortunate few eligible of being The Most Powerful Man In The World.

Is your mission clear and processes willing to listen as opposed to ignore?