The life of the Oyster is unpredictable – a few of them grow fantastic pearls, the rest end up with lemon and pepper squeezed on them on a bed of ice.  I like metaphors, and this is a good one for thinking about success. It’s not clear whether Oysters have plans or visions for their future, but what is known is that it all starts with a bit of grit. 

 It’s the bit of grit that starts the journey. In human terms we’d probably call them entrepreneurs.  A passion, a great idea, a sense that what they have is what the world needs. They recognise the need for change and round their idea they start to grow the layers of a metaphorical pearl.  Often nothing comes of it, but just sometimes the pearl turns into something magical that can transform the world in some way.

That’s where the metaphor fails somewhat because Oysters manage with just one bit of grit, but for organisations to grow something good you need to find regular bits of grit – sometimes quite a lot of it.   Grit comes in many shapes and sizes, sometimes a threat, sometimes an opportunity, maybe some smart technology, maybe a new leader. 

As a result, the organisation is faced with the need to change.  The important thing about grit is you must keep looking for it and use it when you find it.  The unavoidable bits of grit are easy, you generally know they are there. If your business is going to have to transform fast because of internal or external circumstances, then it’s hard to ignore.

But what about the occasions when you don’t really see that opportunity, or it looks too far away or too difficult?  Whatever sort of leader you are, you must keep looking.  Horizon scanning for risk and opportunity is always a critical activity.  There are few more embarrassing moments for a leader than to stand up and say “well, we didn’t see that one coming…”. That’s when boards start looking for replacements. 

If you are no good at this, and not many people are, then find help.  One of the roles we play, for our customers at Defy Expectations, is being the grit, asking the difficult questions, running reviews and workshops to help them find those threats and opportunities that will enable them to grow those transformational pearls.  It can be all the difference between being a pearl or finding yourself in the organisational equivalent of sitting on a platter of ice covered in lemon juice!