July 2, 2024
by Stephen T. Messenger
Storms are going to come. It would be easy to sit in our homes all day and never go outside, protected from the elements. But at the same time, we’d never be able to get things done. We have to confront the storms of life if we plan on making progress.
I’ve been a runner for three decades. I enjoy being outside and logging miles for exercise, health, and mental wellness. But I also understand that running has risks. I’ve encountered angry motorists, ankle twisting potholes, gut-wrenchingly smelly garbage trucks, inappropriate advances and threats, and weather in the form of slippery black ice, sudden rainstorms, and biting cold.
I know that to make running progress, I must expose myself to risks. The most dangerous are aggressive dogs.
I’ve probably encountered between 30-40 aggressive dogs with no barrier or leash keeping them from me. When a dog runs at me in a threatening way, one of two things is going to happen: I’m going to be bitten or the dog is going to back down. So, I always have a plan.
- Turn to face the dog.
- Raise my arms and appear larger than I am.
- If it remains threatening, make loud noises and aggressively take steps towards the dog.
- If it doesn’t stop, present my left forearm as a sacrifice for it to bite and prepare for contact.
- If it bites, be prepared to fight back.
Thankfully, I’ve never had to go past step three. They’ve all backed down when I became more aggressive than they are.
But I know that storms and attacks will come in life. For us to be resilient to inevitable assaults while gaining ground, we have to confront those storms head-on.
The Rumble in the Jungle
Muhammad Ali and George Foreman went to war in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974. In one of the most anticipated boxing matches of all time, these two heavyweights squared off in The Rumble in the Jungle reported as over one billion people watching. But let’s back up a minute first.
Muhammad Ali was no longer in his prime. A few years earlier, he refused to be drafted during the Vietnam War, and the Boxing Association stripped his title. He was ineligible to fight for over three years and, when reinstated, had to fight a number of minor bouts to be eligible again to compete for the title.
When Ali finally got a shot, his opponent was the younger, heavier, and stronger George Foreman. Ali knew that in the ring, Foreman outmatched him. He didn’t stand a chance going toe-to-toe.
Enter the Rope-a-Dope. This non-standard plan by Ali was designed to wear Foreman down. Ali would endure Foreman’s punishment, blow after blow, until Foreman was exhausted. After all, Foreman wasn’t known for endurance—he had only fought four total rounds in his last three fights.
In the ring, Ali knew he would have to withstand a massive amount of damage, and his rope-a-dope plan required two things: the ring ropes and a dope to fall for his plan.
After standing in the center of the ring for the first minutes in Round One, Ali backed up to the ropes and tricked Foreman to follow. As Foreman swung punch after punishing punch, Ali blocked it as best he could, allowing the ropes to help him dodge and absorb much of the force. They bounced him back and kept him standing.
At the end of three rounds and after enduring a massive amount of damage, Ali was ready to fight an exhausted George Foreman. A few rounds later, Ali finished him off taking back the Heavyweight Championship.
Ali knew that he had to stand in the face of the storm in order to win. In boxing, as in life, the attacks would come, and he had a plan to resist it.
The Best Defense Is a Good Offense
Army doctrine states that purpose of using the defense is to prepare for offensive operations. When a military unit goes into a defensive posture, the next thing they’re thinking about is launching an attack.
Our leadership must have the same mindset. We know that attacks will come, and we’re ready to absorb them as best we can. Then we transition to the offense. Four keys to standing resilient in the face of life’s attacks are:
1. Acknowledge Attacks Are Coming. There’s no use in hiding or denying it. If we’re being attacked, it’s good to acknowledge it and be prepared. Whether it’s physical, emotional, environmental or a thousand other ways the world and people can come at us, we have to admit it’s going to happen. Just like those in substance abuse programs, acceptance is the first step.
Once we admit we’re under attack, we can make plans to prevent it. When Ali took the fight with Foreman, he knew he would be subject to Foreman’s massive blows. Ali accepted his fate and made plans to mitigate Foreman’s physical threat.
2. Defuse the Situation. Often the best thing we can do when under attack is find quick ways to defuse the situation. If it’s a verbal spat, take a pause and let emotions settle. On social media, no response often cools the situation down. In physical violence, separation is often a great solution. Leaders create bridges, not chasms. Our job during stress is to reduce emotions.
Ali saw the storm coming as soon as the Round One bell rung. He defused it by backing away from the center of the ring and moving to the ropes. His intention wasn’t to stop the fight, but quite the opposite. It was to defuse going toe-to-toe with a boxer he knew could beat him head on.
3. Be Flexible in the Storm. Have you ever watched nature in a violent windstorm. The most dangerous winds can snap trees and powerlines. Yet the vegetation that withholds the storm are the ones that bend with the wind. Grass blades aren’t snapping off. They’re swaying with the wind, taking the punishment but rolling with the punches.
Ali did the same thing. He allowed the massive windstorm of Foreman to hit him but used the ropes to keep him bouncing back. He flexed to save his energy and didn’t fall to the massive storm that was battering his body.
4. Prepare for the Offense. In the storms of life, our job is to be resilient. We must withstand the punishment and prepare for the offense. While we’re being attacked, it’s incumbent on us to plan for the future. All attacks subside. It’s what we do next that matters.
Ali’s plan was offense all along. He just had to wait until Foreman tired himself out before finishing him. We need to do the same when under assault.
The Storms Will Always Come
If there were no problems, they wouldn’t need leaders like us. All the easy problems have been solved already, and that’s why you and I have job security – because there will always be problems.
The best leaders understand that it’s not our job to avoid crises, but to face them head on. When attacked, acknowledge that it’s happening, defuse the situation, be flexible, and prepare for the offense.
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