Mention Stoicism, and chances are, people would think you are referring to the noun form of the commonly known adjective. Tell them that Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that continues to have relevancy for the modern business world, and I’m guessing you would receive a frown or a loud, “WHAT?”
This is not to say that people are ignorant, though. Stoicism was popular during Roman times but went downhill with the fall of the Roman Empire. The tenets of stoic wisdom also clashed with another rising school of belief, i.e., Christianity, an example being the debate over the nature of God. With the rise of Christianity, it’s no surprise that stoicism was soon rendered obscure.
Religious and historical aspects aside, Stoicism still has plenty of useful guidelines for today’s world, particularly in the areas of business resilience and success. To begin with, the philosophy is a constant reality check. One that forces you to embrace limitations before revealing the correct way forward.
Subsequently, that path might not feel tolerable. It might even come across as hugely painful or sacrificial. But once you’ve fully understood what Stoicism is all about, you will realize you have made the best of what you have. Simply put, you have opted to work with reality, not to endlessly and futilely challenge it.
1. Focus on Controlling What You Can
Life
sucks. Bad things happen to the best of us, the most capable of us. The
stoic response to failures thus begins with accepting that disasters
happen no matter how hard you try to prevent them. Instead of brooding
over why it happened, focus on how to react to it. And move on.
Move. On.
To
be clear, this is not to sideline the reasons for failures. Instead, it
is to acknowledge the grim reality that many things are simply beyond
our control, foremost of which is the past.
While we can all learn from the past, can we change it? If not, why brood over it? Why allow it to drag down the future?
Stoicism
encourages the clear separation of what we can control and what we
can’t. To put this in the context of business resilience, do not obsess
over external factors such as industry downturns, technological changes,
lousy staff, etc. Focus instead on your reaction to them.
Acknowledge
too that beyond your thoughts and intentions, practically everything is
outside of your control. Therefore, make the best of what you do
have an actual grip on i.e. your reaction to shock, loss, tragedy, and
so on. Never sink into negative emotions. Never slip into anger. Doing
so only makes things worse.
2. How You Choose to React to a Crisis Is Entirely on You
One
way to summarize stoic wisdom would be to say that it is a set of
guidelines for life. Philosophy with an emphasis on surviving adversity
and practicing self-restraint.
Stoicism furthermore views fear,
anger, and despair as intensely personal choices. In other words, you do
not have to feel negatively about a crisis. You only do so because you
chose to.
Yes. You whine over the loss of a business contract not
because you’re “only human,” but because you choose to react that way.
You lose sleep over an industry downturn not because it’s “only to be
expected,” but because you allow the downturn to creep into your
personal life.
The gist of it, instead of allowing these negative
emotions to overwhelm you, concentrate on managing and suppressing them.
To put it in another way, do not allow yourself to be lured into a
state of learned helplessness. Always believe in and practice your conscious ability to both contain and redefine adversity.
3. Awful People Do Not Deserve a Response From You
This goes under the umbrella of what was stated in (1) and (2).
Think
about it. There are so many terrible characters in the world. The
school bully. The nit-picking boss. The scheming colleague, and so on.
All
are people who obviously do not adopt the stoic approach to life; they
attempt with all sorts of unpleasant ways to manipulate things beyond
their control. Thus, why waste time joining their games? Why be their
pawn? Why allow their negativity to dictate your actions and life?
Again,
this isn’t to say you should just allow a bully to take your lunch
money or a business competitor to steal your trade formula. It is about
having a realistic, controlled approach to such nuisances.
Respond
with a clear and calm mind, not with one that is enslaved by
negativity, or worse, clouded by fury. Seek to remedy, never to get
back. Aim to resolve, not to avenge.
Most important of all, aim to survive, never for vengeance.
4. A Mastery of Self Through Stoicism
The Stoics have an interesting exercise called the practicing of misfortune.
Seneca,
one of the key figures of Stoicism, recommended that in times of
affluence, we set aside days to practice poverty. This involves doing
things like abandoning your creature comforts, going hungry, dressing in
rags, etc.
Now, the above sounds like asceticism. Frankly, it
could even be deemed silly in today’s world. And yet, consider the real
purpose of Seneca’s exercise. Is it not to strengthen yourself against
the possible downturns of life? By thinking about it, knowing it, and
imagining its taste, wouldn’t you have a clearer idea of what to do if
it indeed happens?
Coming back to the topics of business resilience and success, Seneca’s exercise is a superb reality check. A practical one too.
So
your business is booming now. You have a huge new office and you are
taking your clients and staff out for thousand-dollar meals. Are you
going to regret such extravagances when times are bad? Are you going to
look back and regret not managing your funds more wisely?
Of
note, stoic wisdom emphasizes four cardinal virtues. That of wisdom,
courage, temperance, and justice. While these sound somewhat contrary to
business, which is a contest for material gain, metaphorical dosages of
the four virtues in business management never hurt.
If you need
examples, just google how many businesses failed because of excessive
expenditures during good times. These businesses surely regret not
practicing temperance, in the form of expenditure restrain, during their
best days.
5. Business Resilience Through Knowing There Is Another Tomorrow
As
stated by Seneca, Stoics “count each separate day as a separate life.”
They cherish the new opportunities available with each coming day.
Stoic
wisdom also advocates clear goals. Another quote from Seneca goes that
if you have no clue which port you are sailing to, no wind is ever good
for you.
The worth these beliefs have for business resilience and management is crystal clear.
To
live each day as a separate life encourages the belief that failures
are finite. Yes, a disaster could be very traumatizing. It might even be
crippling. But life always goes on, doesn’t it? Life only stops if your
negative emotions insist that it stops.
Yes, you lost a
huge contract. Your business might even be going under. But does this
mean you wouldn’t have another opportunity? Does this mean you would
never be able to do business again for the rest of your life?
Of course not. Your failures are permanent only if you want them to be. Only if you subconsciously will them to.
Move on,
a Stoic would tell you. Learn from it and move on. Don’t dwell on
things you cannot change. Move on, and there is always another tomorrow.
Another new life.