Being Competitively Joyful
“Joy is the ultimate competitive advantage.”
What a statement. As I sit here, having just finished editing the inaugural episode of a collaborative podcast with Britt Yenser (to be launched soon!), I find myself loving this point she made during the show. Is this something you have ever thought of before? Sometimes, the most refreshing comments are the ones that make you reflect as well.
Leading with joy
Without giving reprise to all of the points made in that episode, I am reminded of a few key thoughts.
Joy is not something that happens to you. It is a conscious decision.
Every person on a team contributes to culture, and that culture influences outcomes.
Realism and joyfulness are not mutually exclusive.
Truth be told, I have a faith that speaks a lot about the concept of joy, and the wisdom I have gained about the subject comes largely from that place. But regardless of your background, once thing is clear when we look at the etymology of the word. Joy comes from the same word as “rejoice” which is an action, not an accident. It also carries with it a definition (Greek) that reads: “calm delight”, which is a state that does not rely upon good things in your environment or changing seasons.
Preparing for “Black swans”
I think it is pretty amazing that the world of business and corporate culture have latched on to this concept. Nicolas Taleb, an author that a former president often quoted, describes something he calls the Black Swan moment — a moment that essentially presents you or your company with the opportunity to move forward succcessfully or to falter. The reason, Taleb and that president assert, that a company would be successful in weathering a Black Swan moment is not found in what happens in the moment. Instead, it is found in the moments —- days, weeks, months, years even —- leading up to the Black Swan moment.
I am fully convinced that we all act in ways that natural for us when dealing with stressful situations. We find ourselves acting according to our practice, which is exactly why militaries have boot camps and drills, firefighters train within burning buildings, and athletes treat training like the real thing. In truth, we should expect that our businesses will do the same when faced with adversity. All of that is to say, the importance we place on building and maintaining the kind of corporate culture we want to see during the seasons of green and black will return fruit to us faced with red. I have seen companies fail during COVID’s height, and others thrive and continue growing. But the one thing that suprises people when they hear the stories of those who survived the pandemic is that it wasn’t a financial boon that spurred the company on during the time. It was an earlier commitment that had been made before the pandemic took root, and that commitment was to maintain a culture of steady service day in and day out. The economy looked bad? They served anyway. The political landscape proved challenging? They served anyway. The ability to do business in person was restricted? They did what they could remotely with increased fervor.
All of this is not to say that being positive for the sake of positivity is the goal. And it is not to say that joy looks like rainbows, either, or that it wards off challenges. Joy is simply something we maybe should take a second look at, as more than the emotional response many have treated it as, and more like a tool in their toolkit for maintaining productivity, morale, and customer value.
When the episode is released, I will be sure to link it here!
UPDATE: The episode dropped! Watch it here: