A Conversation on Success-Written By Carol Zizzo

As a leader, how do you define success? What is the one thing you pay attention to in order to achieve that success?

One of our company core values is learning, and one way I define successful leadership is that ongoing learning is taking place. Each year I choose a learning focus and explore a variety of ways I can begin to learn about it.

One year, I chose a seminar called Success: The Power of Context, offered by Landmark Education Corporation. As a result, I am now giving my attention to how I define success, how others define it, and mostly noticing how important most of us think it is. Amazon offers 122,864 books on success. Barnes & Noble lists 67,227.

I sometimes impede my own success because I fear that I won’t feel successful even when I am successful. I find myself either frantically trying to learn something in short order, or completely withdrawing and depending on others because I think I will never be successful in that area. This is when the joy of learning flies out the window and what blows in is fear of failure.

I recently came across a quote by Thomas John Watson, Sr.:

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success."

Thomas John Watson, Sr. was the president of IBM who took the company’s growth to international status. He became one of the richest men of his time and is often referred to as the greatest salesman of his era. He paid attention to doubling his failures! And, he paid attention to noticing what there was to learn from those failures.

Maybe your definition of success as a leader is focused on the people you lead, living the vision of your company, leaving the planet a better place, discovering a new product or process, or retiring before you are forty. Maybe it is making good use of what you gleaned from a great mentor. There is something you are paying attention to in your pursuit of success—what is it?

If you’re willing, we would love to see your posted response.

Learned Optimism-Written By Dede Henley

I’ll admit it.  I’ve been struggling with pessimism these past few months.  I’m having trouble thinking that things always turn out for the best in light of my daughter’s death.  So, I decided to try to learn a bit more about something I’ve always kind of taken for granted – optimism.

At its most basic, scientists believe, pessimism is an innate response to stress that was hardwired into prehistoric human brains as a survival mechanism.  The species survived and evolved because humans developed a “fight, flight, or freeze” response to any threat.  Those who did not develop this response were more likely to become victims of predators or other dangers.  The key to survival was remembering sounds and smells and events associated with danger.  

Most of us are no longer under threat from predators and yet, we still instinctively can come from the “fight, flight or freeze” mentality – looking for and imagining the worst that can happen.  It is time to evolve as leaders and to balance our automatic (and instinctive) thinking. 

Martin Seligman spent years researching optimism. In his book, “Learned Optimism,” he describes “Optimism” as the process of reacting to setbacks from a presumption of personal power:

• Bad events are temporary setbacks
• Bad events are Isolated to particular circumstances
• These can be overcome by my effort and abilities

Benefits of optimism include: inoculation against depression, improved health, and, when combined with talent and desire, optimism can enable achievement.

He describes “pessimism” as the process of reacting to setbacks from a presumption of personal helplessness:

• Bad events will last a long time
• Bad events will undermine everything I do
• They are my fault

Martin claims that optimism can be practiced and learned, even by those who have not consistently used them previously.   

An optimist sees a bad performance review as an opportunity for improvement.  He investigates what went wrong and takes action.  He doesn’t let it spill into the rest of her life, and he recovers more quickly from setbacks.  

And yet, in the domain of balance, pessimism has to be in the mix when you face risky decisions – a big investment, for example.  It’s the lens through which you see the ugly details in the scenario and explicitly look for the worst case.  One CEO shared that she looked to her CFO for pessimism; she knew she needed someone to help temper her strong optimism.  

I encourage you to notice your automatic thinking and challenge it, if it leads us down the path of “Bad events will last a long time; Bad events will undermine everything I do.  They are my fault.” 

It is possible to practice optimism and look for what’s working. It’s just a change of mind! 

Letting Go: A Leadership Lesson in Whitewater Kayaking

by Derek Olsen

A couple of weeks ago I was floating downriver in an open kayak, when suddenly I was rolled over and dumped into the water. Although I remembered to float feet-first on my back, I'm inexperienced swimming in rapids and I wanted to get quickly back into the kayak.  


My first instinct was to try to stand up in the river -- a painful mistake. Because I was clenching my double-blade paddle with one hand, I had only one arm with which to swim for the kayak, which was getting further away. The paddle caught the current and pulled me under, but I held on tight. If I let go, I reasoned, I wouldn't be able to steer the kayak once back in it. (Plus, I didn't want to buy a new paddle.)  


Finally, I knew that I wasn't getting back into the kayak, and I wanted out of the river. I needed both my arms free to swim to shore, so I had to let go of the paddle.

We use Otto Scharmer's Theory U model in our work with leaders to expand their capacity for withstanding unpredictability and uncertainty, and to help them let go of the desire to control. Letting go -- of control, of agendas, of the past, of preconceived answers -- is central to the model. Letting go of fear, judgment, and cynicism is a doorway to letting the truest answers emerge from pure presence.


My fear of being in the water drove my futile attempt to get quickly back into the kayak. If I had chosen to relax and stay calm, I could've simply floated along and enjoyed the ride until the current carried me past the rapids. 


Change can be like the current in the river. It knocks us down and drags us under if we try to stand in one place, but if we're willing to ride through the chaos there will be calm again on the other side. Like my trusty paddle, we hang onto things long past their usefulness. 


The solution for me was to let go and stop struggling. I later recovered the kayak in a calm spot downriver.