Another week ahead, working at the edge of your capabilities?

There’s no doubting the challenges and the emotional roller coaster we are all experiencing just now.

There’s no doubting the seriousness of the health issues and the economic impact we are all experiencing too.

Running your business at the moment looks harder than it’s ever been.

How does a business owner manage their state of mind when there are so many serious issues in your firm that need tackling?

Thinking or talking about the future upside (when we all get through this) can be seen as facile, glib or damn-right insensitive.

So where can we find some solace in the challenges of now?

Daniel Coyle offers a little wisdom:
“When you operate on the edge of your ability, when you are reaching, failing, reaching again, speed of learning goes way up. It goes way up.”
– Daniel Coyle ‘The Talent Code’

Chances are, you’ve been working right at the edge of your skill level as the economic consequences of covid-19 unfold. Being enthusiastic about the difficulties you’re experiencing is asking a lot.

But the insights Daniel Coyle shares suggest that to improve skills and expertise we must practice at the edge of our current skill level.

We’ve now been forced to the edge of our capabilities, where we’re likely to make mistakes.

Consider a baby learning to walk. They fall over a lot. They keep stretching themselves till they have mastered walking. Then they reach again and start learning to run, then skip, then jump!

As humans, when we struggle, we get smarter, faster, better.

And there’s no doubting the struggles we are experiencing now.

Here’s a 4-page report sharing a few insights into how Usain Bolt, Kenyan long-distance runners and an under 14s football team in Sheffield have become the best at what they do – partly because they’ve worked out that it pays to work at the edge of their capabilities.

When this moment passes, we will be able to look back at how well we have learned.

We’ll remember how our insights and skills accelerated because we were working at the limit of our skill and knowledge.

We wish you well