Overcoming Setbacks

While we would like to think that everything we touch will turn to gold, it may all turn to dust. Former Coca-Cola CEO Doug Ivester was a brilliant CFO under the legendary Roberto C. Goizueta. When Ivester took over for the late Goizueta, everyone was expecting the dealmaker and numbers guy to continue in his footsteps. What happened was that Ivester spent 26 months at the helm and was replaced by Australian Doug Daft.

One reason why Ivester was replaced was that many things went wrong at once. Some say that he was the victim of a perfect storm: food poisoning case in Belgium and competition from Pepsi. But Ivester never called a time out after his first setback. He simply grew more arrogant.

Whenever you suffer a setback, check your pride and call timeout. Self-reflection will help you bounce back.

The industrious cyclist Lance Armstrong is one example of an athlete who has become synonymous with resilience and determination. Armstrong came back from testicular cancer and won several consecutive Tour de France races.

But if you thought his comeback was impressive, check this out. On December 31, 1984, Rick Allen, drummer for British band Def Leppard, lost his left arm. Allen got into a race on a slippery road and his car flew off the track, shredding his arm clean off. Despite the shock, pain and trauma, Allen learned to drum one-handed and he and Def Leppard came back with a vengeance with Hysteria, the 1987 release that sold over 10 million records in the US alone and over 15 million worldwide.

The National Hockey League's (NHL) star Mario Lemieux also came back from adversity. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, a form of cancer, in 1993 and missed 62 games. When he returned, he set a blistering scoring pace and despite the lay-off, led the league in points for the season. Lemieux had to say goodbye to the game he loved without knowing if he would ever skate again. But when he came back, he seized the opportunity.

Another example of an unbelievable comeback belongs to National Football League (NFL) running back Garrison Hearst. Hearst was named the Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year for the second time in his career following the 2002 season. This is not the kind of trophy one wants to win once let alone twice. But Hearst has persevered and his case is worth examining. After a devastating injury, Hearst went through two years of painful rehabilitation and kept the faith when no one thought he would play again. Students can learn many things from Hearst. While the setback was a physical one, very few people could overcome the psychological obstacle inherent in such an uphill battle.

Vince Lombardi stated that "it's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner. Winning is not a sometime thing: it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do the right thing once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."

Next time you think something is impossible think of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Saku Koivu did. After learning that he had cancer the NHL star was sidelined for most of the 2001-02 season, but came back in time for the playoffs and led his Montreal Canadiens like a champion.

In business, setbacks are not of a physical nature as they are in sports. They are a combination of creative and technological changes, competitor actions and overall market forces.