In Good to Great, Jim Collins references The Stockdale Paradox. It is named after admiral Jim Stockdale, who was a United States military officer held captive for eight years during the Vietnam War.\u00a0 Stockdale was tortured more than twenty times by his captors, and never had much reason to believe he would survive the prison camp and someday get to see his wife again.\u00a0 And yet, as Stockdale told Collins, he never lost faith during his ordeal:
\n\u201cI never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.\u201d
\nWhile Stockdale had remarkable faith in the unknowable, he noted that it was always the most optimistic of his prison mates who failed to make it out of there alive.
\n\u201cThey were the ones who said, \u2018We\u2019re going to be out by Christmas.\u2019 And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they\u2019d say, \u2018We\u2019re going to be out by Easter.\u2019 And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.\u201d
\nWhat the optimists failed to do was confront the reality of their situation. They preferred the ostrich approach, sticking their heads in the sand and hoping for the difficulties to go away. That self-delusion might have made it easier on them in the short-term, but when they were eventually forced to face reality, it had become too much and they couldn\u2019t handle it.
\nStockdale approached adversity with a very different mindset: he accepted the reality of his situation.\u00a0 Stockdale knew he was in hell, but, rather than bury his head in the sand, he stepped up and did everything he could to lift the morale and prolong the lives of his fellow prisoners.
\nHe created a tapping code so they could communicate with each other. He developed a milestone system that helped them deal with torture. And he sent intelligence information to his wife, hidden in the seemingly innocent letters he wrote.
\nCollins and his team observed a similar mindset in the good-to-great companies. They labeled it the Stockdale Paradox and described it like so:\u00a0 You must retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties and at the same time, you must confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
\nThe Stockdale Paradox carries an important lesson in life, a lesson in faith and honesty. Never doubt you can achieve your goals, no matter how ambitious they may be and no matter how many critics you may have.
\nAlways take honest stock of your current situation. Be careful not to lie to yourself for fear of short-term embarrassment or discomfort, because such deception will only come back to defeat you in the end.
\nThe first half of this paradox is relatively easy, since optimism really isn\u2019t that hard. You just choose to believe that it will all turn out for the best, and everything that happens to you is a means to that end. Simple as. But optimism on its own can be a dangerous thing.
\nThere\u2019s no difference between a pessimist who says, \u201cOh, it\u2019s hopeless, so don\u2019t bother doing anything,\u201d and an optimist who says, \u201cDon\u2019t bother doing anything, it\u2019s going to turn out fine anyway.\u201d Either way, nothing happens. \u2013 Yvon Chouinard
\nTo embrace the second half of the Stockdale Paradox and truly really make strides you must combine that optimism with brutal honesty and a willingness to take action.
\nLook, nobody likes admitting that they\u2019re overweight, that they\u2019re broke, that they\u2019ve chosen the wrong career or that their marriage is falling apart. But admitting such truths is an absolute necessity if you want to grow and improve.
\nAt times it might feel like you\u2019re taking a steps backward, but you can view that retreat as the pull-back on a sling shot: you\u2019re just setting yourself up to make significant progress down the road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Good to Great, Jim Collins references The Stockdale Paradox. It is named after admiral Jim Stockdale, who was a United States military officer held captive for eight years during the Vietnam War.\u00a0 Stockdale was tortured more than twenty times by his captors, and never had much reason to believe he would survive the prison …<\/p>\n