You’ll never know when it appears

In 1988, I left Boston in perfect health and flew to New Jersey to do a presentation at AT&T’s corporate headquarters in Basking Ridge. This was a big deal, as they even sent a limousine to pick me up at the airport and bring me back. After the presentation, I had a panel, which included several of their VPs, to answer questions. It was a glorious event, as we explained how we could save our jobs by becoming more competitive.

From there, I flew to Seattle to do the same for Boeing. With Airbus coming on strong, subsidized by several governments. for the first time Boeing was being challenged by a viable competitor with serious funding advantages.

The presentation in front of 400 senior managers went incredibly well, and the following question-and-answer period lasted two hours. I was dragging, but I was incredibly delighted as few things are more satisfying than helping companies become more competitive and save jobs.

I was in my glory. What could be better? Later that night, I seriously injured my back in my hotel room. Talk about a fall from grace, a fall from the top to the bottom.

I’ve suffered from that injury ever since. I don’t take any painkillers, and I swim a mile nonstop five mornings a week to mitigate the pain. It works well most of the time, except when it doesn’t, and that’s when I need it the most.

Well, my back was really hurting when an Itzhak Perlman concert caught my eye. He was playing a Beethoven violin concerto with Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmoniker.

Have you ever seen Itzhak Perlman give a concert? The great violinist walks onto the stage with crutches, acknowledging applause. He contracted polio when he was 4 years old and never fully regained the use of his legs. When he gets to his seat, he drops the crutches, and someone hands him his violin, and he becomes one of the most elegant Violinists the world has known. The music is some of the very best we’ll ever hear.

Can we even imagine how hard it must have been for this man to overcome his physical difficulties to become one of the best? Interestingly, my back didn’t seem so sore anymore.

So here you are, running your company or your department or your project in an environment and circumstances you’ve never seen before. A couple of years ago, we didn’t know what a pandemic was. Now we know. We could never have imagined the cost of energy more than doubling, and all of a sudden, we can’t find people who want to work. There’s a “supply chain shortage” that’s messing up everything. Customers don’t have as much money as they used to spend on our products. How can we even stay in business?

I’ve been fortunate to learn from a lot of people over the years, and perhaps one of the most valuable things I’ve ever learned is that we have to take inspiration from where it comes.

Do you know where Henry Ford got the inspiration for an assembly line to build automobiles? He visited a meatpacking plant and noticed the animals were brought to the place where they would be butchered before they were slaughtered. That’s where he got the idea for mass production of automobiles.

Chances are you don’t have to spawn a new industry to save your operations. What Perlman, Ford and so many others have done is not to look at things as they are but as they could be. Then they start creating the new reality. Seldom is it easy, but Ford often said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right!” Get a few of your best folks together and start brainstorming some solutions. Select the best and get busy.

You just might find this economic disaster has given you the impetus you need to bring your company to a higher level.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com.