20-mile march, consistency, and virtue

20-mile march, consistency, and virtue

Matthew 25:31-46. Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me

Jim Collins, in Great by Choice (as a follow up to Built to Last and Good to Great) contended that great organizations are those that consistently perform a 20-mile march, whether the conditions of the field are favorable or not.

The call to virtue means a call for consistency regardless the situation and suffering; whether friend or foe. Suffering and temptations are tests. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that we may be brought away from tests, but such is the condition of our lives. We don’t and shouldn’t seek temptations, but they will come.

Resilience is a popular buzzword during the pandemic, but what does it really mean? Taleb also talked about antifragility, or entities that thrive in conditions of extreme volatility. How can we be resilient and antifragile?

I find insights in this gospel: a sober awareness of our controllables and adapting our activities without losing our authenticity. We are meant to be good but we have different ways of being good. We are all meant to help the least of our fellow, but we have different ways of helping.

A useful maxim is: Hope for the best, expect the worst. Prepare for both graces and curses. The prayer for serenity, courage, and wisdom and insight guides us towards being the best version of ourselves.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 66: MARCH 7, 2022]