Don't Just Do Something, Stand There

In our relentless pursuit of progress and achievement, we sometimes miss a profound truth: Success is achieved not by constant action but by knowing when to pause and when to pounce.

An old African fable illustrates this well.

An old crocodile was floating at the river’s edge when a younger crocodile swam up next to him,?“I’ve heard from many that you’re the fiercest hunter in all of the river bottoms. I want to learn your ways. Teach me now!”?

Awoken from a nice long afternoon nap, the old crocodile glanced at the young crocodile with one of his reptilian eyes and exhaled a lazy bubble before sinking back into his nap.

Feeling frustrated and disrespected, the young crocodile swam offriver to chase after some catfish, leaving in his wake a flurry of bubbles. “I’ll show him”, he thought to himself.

Later that day the young crocodile returned to the old crocodile?who?was still napping and began to brag to him about his successful hunt, “I caught two meaty catfish today. What have you caught??Nothing??Perhaps you’re not so fierce after all.”

Unphased,?the old crocodile looked at the young crocodile, said nothing, closed his eyes, and continued to float atop the water.

Once again, the young crocodile was angry he couldn’t get a response from the elder, and he swam off a second time upstream to see what he could hunt.

After a few hours of thrashing about he was able to hunt down a small crane.

Smiling, he kept the bird in his jaws and swam back to the old crocodile, adamant about showing him who the true hunter was.

As the young crocodile rounded the bend, he saw the elder crocodile still floating in the same spot near the river’s edge.

However, something had changed — a large wildebeest was enjoying an afternoon drink just inches near the old crocodile’s head.

In one lightning-fast movement, the old crocodile bolted out of the water, wrapped his jaws around the great wildebeest, and pulled him under the river.

Awestruck the young crocodile swam up with the tiny bird hanging from his mouth and watched as the old crocodile enjoyed his 500?lb?meal.

The young crocodile asked him, “Please… tell me… how… how?did you do?that?”

Through mouthfuls of wildebeest, the old crocodile finally responded, “I did nothing … until it was the right time”

True patience isn't merely inaction, but a grasp of the balance between action and rest. It is life's nature to always be in flux. If we wait knowing what opportunity looks like, our moment will indeed come. As it's been said,

Success follows those waiting patiently, but then moving decisively when the moment is right.

Just as in the natural world, the business landscape rewards such patient aggression.

Consider the events during the Great Financial Crisis. The markets were in turmoil, and as many retreated in fear amidst the chaos, Warren Buffett saw an opportunity beyond the immediate crisis. He recognized the intrinsic value in institutions that many had deemed as falling giants. Amongst these were Bank of America, General Electric (GE) and Goldman Sachs.

At a time when these companies were desperate for capital, Buffett stepped in, not out of sheer benevolence, but from a position of patient aggression. He invested billions into these institutions but did so on terms favorable to his company, Berkshire Hathaway, and its shareholders.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment choice; Buffett bided his time, assessed the financial terrain, and when the moment was ripe, he struck with precision. The terms of these investments were such that they promised high returns.

And indeed, as the world began its slow climb out of the financial abyss, these investments bore fruit. The returns were substantial, with Buffett's investments yielding billions in value for shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Just like the old crocodile, Buffett waited patiently for years and when the time was right, he made his move and reaped rich rewards.

In life and in business, sometimes it’s about seizing the moment, other times it's about waiting patiently, but at all times it’s about understanding the difference between the two.

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