What I Learn About Work from the Intrepid Ukrainians

Two and half weeks ago, Putin invaded Ukraine without provocation. Ukrainians are fighting bravely, exceeding all expectations. On televisions and Internet, the world is witnessing how Ukrainians are working to defense of their country and its people and to rally other countries to their cause. While the war’s ultimate outcome is being shaped, their spirit is undeniably strong and unbreakable.?Salute to all Ukrainians!

On a personal note, the Putin's invasion touched a raw nerve.?Growing up in China, I heard stories from my elders and friends about the Japanese invasion of China on July 7, 1937.?Under false pretenses, the Japanese Imperial Army marched across the Marco Polo Bridge into China and committed atrocities that was unparalleled in the modern era. This included the infamous Rape of Nanjing, which slaughtered about 200,000 Chinese with at least 20,000 raped cases.?Living in Shanghai at that time, which was about 170 miles from Nanjing, I still remember reading stories for local papers in the late 1970s which human remains was found in wells and other crevices from that period.?Wars are cruel.?I pray nothing on this scale of madness in our time.

Any war can be examined from many perspectives. Here I will adhere to the theme of this newsletter – way of work.?Sadly, there are many rich lessons, and I organized them under these themes:

1.?????Supercharge Passion

2.?????Emphasize Your Strength

3.?????Ask for Help

Supercharge Passion. There are few human events that can bring people together like an unprovoked and baseless war, especially by a bully with overwhelming military strengths on a peaceful population. As expected, people of Ukraine came together to defend their nation and their homes. What was unexpected was their will, defiance, and strength and showed the world their amazing valor. Wow! (I could not help but wonder would the U.S. have left Afghanistan in its current condition if the freedom loving people in that war fought just as hard. Taliban clearly fought better, and they won.)?Their passion motivated not must Ukrainians, but beyond. About 20,000 people, at the time of writing, migrated to Ukraine to fight against tyranny.?Passion is on display on so many fronts, from big to small:

1.?????Big . The unwavering leadership of Ukrainian President Zelensky saying “I need ammunition, not a ride” that united a nation and the world.

2.?????Small . The baker, Pavlo Servetnyk, who has been working 20+ hours a day feeding people in Kherson, when food supply line is being cutoff.

What does it mean for work? To me, passion is the original source of energy required to accomplish all great endeavors. As you think about work for yourself, your team, and your organization, ask these questions:

·???????Individual: What are you passionate about? What keeps you excited??What motivates you to keep on fighting during the dark hours when nothing seems to go right?

·???????Team: How can you channel the inner passion of your team members and direct them toward tasks projects, and other work activities??How can all of you collectively create something much bigger than your team?

·???????Organization: Are people excited about the mission and vision of the organization? Does the organization have the right culture to tap into this passion??

These are just starter questions of course, but the answers to these questions can profoundly change how people view work.?It is also worthy to note that common passion across countries, also enhance collaboration and reduce political frictions exponentially, just the network affect.

I work heavily with non-profit these days, and what set non-profits apart from for-profit organization the most is passion.?I realize comparing passion of work to passion of saving one’s home and country is false equivalence. But I cannot but help and wonder what great things we can all do if we are truly passionate and engaged. We have many global issues, from saving the planet to conquering diseases. We can do these with passion.

Emphasize Your Strength. The list below, derived from Statista , compares the military capabilities of Russia and Ukraine:

Military Capability??? Metric ??? Russia???????Ukraine??? Analysis (Russia is…)

Attack helicopters????????Number????????????? 544????????????????34 ???????????????????16x bigger

Naval Forces??????????????? Naval fleet???????? 605????????????????38?????????????????~16x bigger

Air Force?????????????????????Total aircraft??????4,173??????????????318????????????????????>13x bigger

Tanks???????????????????????????Number???????????12,420????????????2,596???????????????????>4x bigger

Ground Forces ???????????Personnel??????????? 850k?????????????200k???????????????????>4x bigger

Armored vehicles????????Number???????????30,122???????????1,2303?????????????????>2x bigger

Clearly, Russia has overwhelming military capabilities across land, air, and sea.?Yet, the Ukrainians is exceeding all expectations by maximizing their strengths to the fullest and inflicting tremendous casualties on the Russian invasion forces.?The Ukrainian strengths are many: knowledge of their land, agility with their swift movements and light armaments, and deftness that amplifies their relatively weak weaponries.?Yet when combined with Ukrainian’s passion to defend their nation (especially when compared with the relatively unmotivated and dispirited invading Russian soldiers) and their ability to corral their friends and gain aids of all kinds, it is not clear if the Russian would win.?After all, what is the ultimate success from Putin’s perspective? If success is a subservient population and a subservient country, then the resistance of the past 18 days should have demonstrated the impossibility of achieving that goal. Even if Russians could tactically conquer a city here and there, it is unlikely the Russians would bend the will of the people. ?

How can you apply similar lessons to work??

1)????This is something I advocated for all projects. Let’s start with the end in mind – what does success look like??Be a bit more sophisticated with this question. Avoid generalized and overly sweeping goals. Be specific and preferably determine quantifiable metrics. Even better yet, prioritize the success and determine what are the essential goals versus stretched goals. This way, you can focus on achieving the essential goals and direct any remaining resources on the stretched goals.

2)????Be clear minded with what you have at your disposal.?Do you have the required resources, time, budget, intellectual firepower, and other assets to achieve them??If not, then pare back and adjust course.?

3)????Identify your strengths and weaknesses.?Everyone, every team, every company, every nation has strengths, and the goal should be to maximize it. At the same time, everyone has weaknesses, and the goal is to make sure those weaknesses do not become major handicaps that endanger success.

In this war, Russia is the aggressor, and I suspect most of the Russian soldiers know that even if they are receiving very different stories.?Russian’s success is difficult to define now as they face the reality of the situation, but it is quite easy for the Ukrainians – defend their land, save their people, kick out the enemy, and win support from the world. ?Anything the Ukrainians can do to deny the invading army is a small win.?Examining the situation this way, it is simply not clear how the Russia would possibly win unless they are willing to commit unspoken atrocities such as the Rape of Nanjing to break the will of the people. (I wonder if that were to happen, can the world still watch passively in the 21st century.)

Russia’s apparent strength can also be their weaknesses too.?Larger armies require more food and life’s essentials.?More tanks require more fuel. ?Tank columns, as many of saw on TV, were sitting ducks against a more agile opposition armed with shoulder missiles.?The further Russians are in Ukraine, the more they would stretch their supply line. With freezing weather this week and next, would the invading army be met with a similar fate as the Napoleon’s and Hitler’s army before them??

Ask for Help. To accomplish great things, especially defending a nation and her people against a much larger country, external help is required.?Through Ukrainian leaders, starting with their president but also many other leaders, they have made clear and compelling case why the world should not stand still and should come to their aid.?Their effective communication is especially poignant as they are reinforced by the images and videos of indiscriminate shelling civilian buildings, hospitals, and house of worship.?

Here are the activities that Ukrainians performed superbly as they sought help near and far:

1.?????Captivating message and imagery.?For example, since the start of the war, President Zelensky wardrobe changes from formal suit and ties to match the situation. From military fatigues to a khaki green T-shirt when address British’s Parliament, his dress code shouts out the message “We are in a war, and we need your help!”.?To his country men and women, the clothing shows resolve and determination and reinforces now the famous line “I need ammunition, not a ride”. Wow, what a powerful message!

2.?????Consistent messaging.?Like many of you, I have been glued to news whenever I have a chance. The message from Ukrainian leaders is beautifully consistent:

a.?????Thank you…

b.?????We are fighting not just for us, but also for the rest of Europe…

c.?????We will ultimately win…

d.?????Send us planes and weapons…

e.?????We need food and humanitarian aids too…

f.??????And please choke off Russian’s ability to wage war whatever it takes…

3.?????Dare to ask.?With their cities being invaded, the normal pleasantries are out.?President Zelensky called all European Union presidents and asked directly to join EU. He urged NATO for a no-fly zone over his country and demanded more military aid at the British Parliament. Other Ukrainian leaders seemed to grasp whatever airtime they can have the outside world asking directly and unequivocally.?

The four key takeaways for me are:

1.?????You are rarely alone.?When work gets tough, which all worthwhile endeavors confront, be ready to ask for help.?For example, if you are sensing burnout or in grief, seek help from family, friends, and perhaps professionals. Let your loved one knows so they can be a source of assurance and comfort.?If you are facing difficult situations on projects, then ask for help from your team and sponsor.?

2.?????Be timely. Timing is important.?Ukraine is in a race against time, and it’s easy to imagine the consequences if help comes too late.

3.?????Make the message clear and persuasive.?Make sure the situation and consequences are laid out plainly.?Spelling out the details if necessary, so others understand the magnitude of the situation.?And be specific about what you are wishing and what you are willing to receive.

4.?????Express gratitude.?You may not receive everything you have hoped for, but any help is better than none. By being super gracious, you are likely to “shame” others to do even more.

These are some of the key lessons that I have learned so far from the people of Ukraine.?Sadly, it is unclear how much longer the Putin's War would go on. And I am sure there will be many more lessons to come.?Thank you for reading.