How To Get Amazing Results Out Of A Disaster.

Texas is 1000 miles straight south of Minnesota.? Anyplace 1000 miles south of Minnesota in January has to be warmer, right? ?

We envisioned warm water, sweet surf sessions, and fun in the sun?during a mid-January boat test in Texas.?We made plans. Surf gear, warm weather clothes, boat equipment for warmer?weather,?were detailed?for?each day from sun up to sun down. ?

The Texas weather gods had other plans. The high temps barely got over 30o, the?water was frigid too.? Expectations dashed on the boat launch jetty rocks.

When life doesn’t go as?planned?you get experience.? Over-gripping expectations when things don’t go right may trade opportunity for anger.? But, choosing to let go of expectations to grip a new set of experiences is always the path to better outcomes.

When things don’t go?exactly?as planned?the?world opens up new perspectives, but only if your mindset prevents frustration from crushing curiosity.

Ultimately, we surfed, enjoyed boating while wrapped up for cold weather, and discovered some unexpected?cold weather?performance advantages, as well as?features to add.? Opportunities to test winterization processes, trailer operations, electronics, ballast, and other functional components in extreme conditions have proven invaluable.

It would have been easy to pack it?in,?and await anticipated conditions.? We didn’t, and upon pivoting to new expectations, we notched a broader experience.

Instead of another product evolution test in the books with a warm weather backdrop, we have more knowledge about cold weather applications.? We’re wiser, equipped with more wisdom directly benefitting our customers.

That lemonade tastes pretty good.

A reflection.

After an?8?year career with Buick, Walter Chrysler left General Motors in 1919.? Frustrated by GM’s complacent vision for the future, Chrysler sold his GM stock back to GM for $10,000,000, seed money for the new Chrysler car company.

Chrysler’s novel features leapfrogged the brand to a #3 market position in its first year of production,1925. Hydraulic brakes on all?4?wheels, aluminum pistons, lighter total weight, and dashboard gauges were among the unique features consumers found alluring.

An engineer at heart, Chrysler embraced a tactical approach to building cars. Monitoring every cost, innovating production processes, focusing on R+D, and giving managers the freedom to make fast decisions based upon the latest data set him on a fresh, competitive path.

Chrysler was a dog on the bone of innovation.?His infectious drive to elevate the car business through exploring new ideas so catalyzed his team that the company became the standard for creative solutions in car building and motoring features.?

Henry Ford disparaged Chrysler upon seeing his new car, the Chrysler 6, snarking,?you’re going to go broke.? Yet Chrysler bested hundreds of US car makers at the time, persisting into the present day.

Life’s full of curve balls and critics.? Building a bulletproof business recognizes a final destination in mind, realizing?there are multiple routes.

Ask yourself:

1. Is your team clear on your mission??
2. Do they anticipate a circuitous route??
3. Embedded in culture, is the unexpected expected?

In the Zen view, if you expect?nothing,?and accept everything, your mindset opens to every possibility.

Rarely is the path to success a direct route.? Leaning into?what?is,?reveals untold solutions leading to the finish line faster. Becoming resilient in the face of resistance amplifies ambition. ?