Too important to leave to chance

“Hard work, diligence, persistence, and a positive attitude are all very useful if you want to succeed. They’re essential… But they’re insufficient. None of them will deliver success unless you also harness the power of opportunity.” Richard M Rothman talks to Indian Management about his latest book, The Power of Opportunity.

- Richard M Rothman

We live in a world of abundant opportunities. Still, many a time, we fail to see them and instead spend resources chasing ‘nopportunities’? Why do people often fall into this trap?

Studies have found that people are far more motivated to avoid losses than they are in making gains. Similarly, executives who have invested in ‘nopportunities’ will often spend time and money in a hopeless effort to turn them around. If you are constantly bailing out the lifeboat, then the search for new and better opportunities tends to fall to the bottom of the priority list.

All business managers and owners are engaged in a constant battle, firefighting operational issues and solving problems. But as management guru Peter Drucker correctly pointed out, “results are obtained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.” If possible, you should identify and dump hopeless nopportunities in order to give yourself more time to focus on opportunities.

“Opportunity is far too important to leave to chance. It needs a process.” How crucial is a process-driven approach?

Imagine how fearful you would be if you had to be operated on by a surgeon who had never performed the procedure before. If you are choosing opportunities without a process, then that is your situation. You are flying blind and have every right to be fearful.

Systematic processes are the foundation of our modern world. The surgeon who uses a systematic process did not invent it himself. Rather, the process is based on the failures and successes of hundreds of surgeons who came before him. By using a tested process, the surgeon has a much higher likelihood of a positive outcome.