Our Finest Hour

Focus on What You Are Going To. . .

Warren Buffet might have had one too many Diet Coke’s before he said:?"You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out."

There is a powerful leadership lesson inside that “profound” quote.

Haruki Murakami reminds us, “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about."

When the “tide goes out” (the current challenge is over), what will be revealed about you, your character, attitude, resilience?

The question of the day is, who will you be when the storm is over? Will you appear naked and defenseless, or will it be your finest hour?

Apollo 13?was the seventh crewed mission in the?Apollo space program ?and the third expecting to?land on the Moon . The craft launched from?Kennedy Space Center ?on April 11, 1970 without a perfect lift off for this historical adventure.?Much to the dismay and concern of the entire ground crew and astronauts, the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the?service module failed two days into the mission. The space flight was altered to loop around the moon and return to Earth on April 17. . .?which was an incredibly challenging and dangerous feat filled with countless potential outcomes.

The?Apollo 13?crew knew they were running low on oxygen and battery power.?They remained out of control huddled together waiting for NASA to determine how or if they would safely return to earth.?NASA’s frantic ground crew, led by veteran flight director Gene Kranz, desperately scrambled for solutions.?You can imagine the level of tension as the hours ticked by as all options were being examined.

As the spacecraft neared the critical moment of re-entry, a senior leader nervously commented: “This could be the worst disaster NASA has ever seen.”

His doom and gloom comment was immediately countered as Gene Kranz responded, “With all due respect, Sir, I believe this will be our finest hour.”

Kranz made it clear throughout the whole ordeal that, “Failure is not an option.”?He confidently led the team to improvise, adapt, and ultimately create a path for the spacecraft to land safely.

It was an achievement of historic and life-saving proportions. Gene Kranz revealed his true leadership character during the entire ordeal.

Former U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is right; “When things are tough people become more of who they are.”

Are you someone who believes your worst disaster is right around the corner? You will probably prove yourself right.??????????????????????????????????

Or,

Do you believe this could be your finest hour? You too, will probably prove yourself right.?????????????

Advice columnist Ann Landers wrote, “If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, ‘I will be bigger than you.?You cannot defeat me.”

Give up fixating your mind and energies on a setback, purge pessimism, and negativity from your thinking, avoid a scarcity or “poor me” mentality and envision life on the other side.

Every day leaders need to hold firm to the vision of a safe landing, create concrete plans to move beyond the crisis, and carefully execute.

This current predicament, the next trial, or impending adversity could be your finest hour. How do you make it a reality?

“Losers focus on what they are going through,” observed Dr. Mike Murdock. “Champions focus on what they are going to.”

?Questions to Ponder:

?Describe what you are going through.

?Define what you could be going to.