When I was working in London, an old boss of mine told me “the only thing I hate is moaning because there is always a solution to anything.” I have never forgotten that comment. In fact, I have tended to live by it.

Now, I am sure that statement isn’t true all the time, but what it has taught me is the importance of being resilient and believing in yourself. If you do so anything becomes possible. It’s a similar idea to “what you put in is what you get out.”

Why am I bringing this up now? Well, I think we just witnessed just how far one can get with resilience and self-belief thanks to the All Blacks’ performance at the Rugby World Cup. They have set a great example for all of us in business.

OK, the All Blacks didn’t get the ultimate result we all so desperately wanted, and, yes, a certain TMO official needs to be ‘binned’ himself moving forward, but the resilience and belief the All Blacks showed both throughout the tournament and in the final is something of which all New Zealanders can be extremely proud. It should inspire us in that it showed if you truly put your mind to something, it can be achieved with a strategy, hard work, and self-belief.

Business resilience is the ability of an organisation to quickly adapt to disruptions, while keeping the business going and simultaneously safeguarding people, assets and brand reputation.

Eighteen months ago the All Blacks were in turmoil. They had lost to teams they had never lost to before, two assistant coaches were sacked, and a lot of passionate NZ rugby fans were calling for the blood of the coach. Despite that, and many fans writing them off at the World Cup, the team defied adversity and turned everything around to all but lift the trophy.

That same attitude goes a long way in business. It’s important for organisations to have a resilience strategy. That might involve developing flexible operations so you can adapt quickly to changes in the workforce or suppliers, for example. It might mean investing more in digital processes, embracing automation, exploring flexible working hours and locations, speeding up product development and so on.

It’s also important to build your own personal resilience and self-belief. That can be doing simple things like making sure you take time off for exercise or to spend with family, or making the time for a regular catch up with a fellow business owner so you can support one another.

Don’t put building resilience in the too hard basket. Spend time on it and trust that effort will reap rewards and it will. I think the All Blacks proved to us on the biggest stage of all, in that heart-wrenching final. 

I just hope that their performance inspires many Kiwis to build resilience and self-belief so they can see there isn’t a glass ceiling to hold them back from achieving whatever they chose to pursue.

Signing off as a proud All Black fan.