The Importance of Persistence

As an avid cinephile, great movies inspire me.

I define great movies as ones that strike me with a thought so powerful it changes my perspective. One of my all-time favorite movies is The Founder which tells the launch story of the McDonald’s empire. I took two points of inspiration from this movie: The first is how to build a business around a value proposition that might not be as straightforward to a customer as it is to the company; the second is around the importance of persistence over everything else. 

In The Founder, Ray Kroc is a 52-year-old milkshake mixer salesman grinding away while searching for his big break. Each morning Ray, who joins and eventually builds the McDonald’s empire, listens to a speech by former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge (watch the clip here):

 “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is practically a cliché. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.”

 A recent conversation with my leadership team made me reflect on this scene and speech, given how true it holds for the work we do at GreyOrange. When tough challenges come our way, our team shows incredible will to persist. Like Ray Kroc’s story, we don’t always know where or when our breaks will come, but we understand it’s important to press on. We understand our ultimate success requires acknowledging that what got us 'here' as a company might not be the same as what will get us 'there.' As a team, we instinctively know that with persistence we will thrive.

 As with all companies that set their sights on industry-changing goals, we’ll continue to face challenges – maybe even ones we don’t immediately see a way through. That’s why I’m grateful we have persistence on our side. Speaking of, thanks for persisting through my long post. I’d like to know – how has persistence played a role in your journey?