When I was a young advertising copywriter, my boss told me
“more than half of the time, our best works don’t get approved. That’s why we
can’t succeed with just flashes of genius. We need real creative stamina. “
Remembering it now, I think of Manny Pacquiao. He has
trained to make lots and lots and lots of punches. More than half of them may
miss the target. But he never runs out of power, he never gets tired.
How else can the boxing icon inspire us in our work ?
Commitment to a dream
When Pacquiao was in his teens, he has already discovered his
great potential as a boxer and he has decided that’s what he was going to be.
So, he travelled to the city and left everything behind. He was not getting any
fights at first. He lived in the streets hungry. But kept the dream even though
it was tempting to find a more steady source of income.
The Entrepreneur website narrated a similar pursuit of a
passion by the founders of Apple. To fund the creation of their first computer,
“Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen microbus, and Steve Wozniak sold his
Hewlett-Packard calculator. “ Working in
a garage, I believe they didn’t have many other possessions.
Intellectual Humility
Pacquiao was a total unknown in the United States when he
first met Freddie Roach. The six-time Trainer of the Year admitted that after only a few rounds of mitts training, he
was convinced that “Manny was special. “ Manny was already an international
champion before he met Freddie. But instead of just relying on his natural
gift, he knew that he needed a higher level of training.
In the book Outliers,
Malcom Gladwell theorizes that for anyone to be outstanding in a chosen field,
one’s gift should be enhanced by 10,000 hours of practice. Good mentorship will
be of great advantage,too.
Liz Wiseman is a world-renowned executive advisor. In the
book Multipliers, she said that some
executives are “intellectual supremacists.” They are “diminishers” of talent
because they believe that there are only
a few other smart people who can help
them. On the other hand, the “multipliers” will “see their organization as full
of talented people who are capable of contributing at much higher levels. “
Pacquiao recognized the talents of the training staff and
his physical conditioning expert. He also doesn’t fail to attribute much of his
success to them.
Expanding capabilities
Many thought that Pacquiao was a one-handed killer relying
solely on his left fist. But if you watch his fights in slow motion, you will
see that his right hand has been trained to be equally lethal. It was, in fact,
responsible for one of Ricky Hatton’s earlier knockdowns.
Connor Ruebusch of Bloody Elbow thinks of Manny’s right as
the more dangerous weapon because his opponents prepare to watch out for his
left.
Whatever our job, it is always better to broaden our
repertoire of capabilities than just being a one-trick pony.
Different plans for
different problems
In the book 33
Strategies of War, David Greene explained that some historical generals lost
their battles because they used tactics that worked in a previous war. He
warned us against being like those military leaders when we are “reacting to
things that happened in the past, applying theories and ideas that we digested
long ago but that have nothing to do with our predicament in the present.”
So, he advises us to remember that “nothing stays the same
in life, and keeping up with circumstances as they change requires a great deal
of mental fluidity.”
Now we may understand why Pacquiao moves and punches
differently each bout. For example, Pacquaio’s moves against Oscar De La Hoya
were so different from his maneuvers against Miguel Cotto.
Making People Happy
We often hear Manny say “ I want to make the people happy. “
That’s how he differentiates himself from fighters who run and duck to the
point of boring the spectators. Pacquiao, one of the most exciting fighters of
all time, is like a company who lists delighting the customers as topmost in
its agenda.
Not burning bridges
At one point in his career, Pacquiao was called
the”Mexicutioner.” Manny asked not be
called by that “honor” anymore because he didn’t like to offend the countrymen
of his many fallen opponents. To protect the dignity of his losing adversaries,
Pacquiao has a habit of describing them as “tough opponents.” He openly
admitted that he had a hard time against Antonio Margarito even though he
actually reconfigured the gigantic opponent’s face.
Today, Mexicans root
for Pacquiao when he is not fighting a Mexican.
I think it is always best to keep a good relationship with
everyone, including competitors. There is really nothing gained with having an
enemy.
Taking risks
Manny rose to phenomenal fame by taking on the big guys. The
much bigger guys. He wouldn’t have become Pacquiao had he chosen to stay safe.
Margie Warell wrote three books entitled Stop Playing Safe, Find Your Courage and Brave. In a recent blog article, she said that some
people and companies fail to achieve more success because they are risk-averse.
She said we may “ exaggerate the worst-case scenario…and underestimate our
ability to handle the consequences of risk.” She also noted that sometimes we
justify our safe decisions by "discounting or denying the cost of inaction and
sticking with status quo. “
If Floyd Mayweather did not take the risk of fighting
Pacquiao, he may realize that he wasted all his other achievements. He will be
remembered as the one who refused to fight the best.
Taking risks is not a guarantee of success. (That’s why they
are risks. ) But as former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George said “ there
are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you cannot cross a chasm
in two small jumps. “
Rising from failure
Manny has lost before. But he is always a better fighter
afterwards. He knocked Erik Morales out in the 10th round of their
second battle and in the third round of their last encounter. He subdued the
elite fighter Timothy Bradley after his loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
Ed Catmull is the President of Pixar Animation Studios and
Walt Disney Animation Studios. In the book Creativity
,Inc. he narrated how nearly all the Pixar stories would fail so many times
in internal story conferences before they would become box office hits. They
were glad they failed at first. He even cited Andrew Stanton, writer and
director of Bug’s Life, who always
told the staff to “fail early and fail fast” so they can address weak points
before it’s too late.
A sense of mission
Perhaps the biggest factor of success is motivation.
In the beginning, Pacquiao needed to fight because his
family had to survive poverty. When he became a legend, he had to win because
millions of Filipinos would be more devastated than him if he lost. These
things put a load on his shoulders but also lit a fire in his belly. When he
turned Christian, he started dedicating every fight to the Glory of God. It has
become both his motivation and his reassurance.
In the Business Insider, Laszlo Bock, Google’s head of people
operations, cited a research by Wharton professor Adam Grant. Findings showed
that productivity increases by as much as five times when people are able to
connect their jobs to something meaningful.
That’s a lot of Pacquiao inspirations for the workplace.
And when you’re stressed, try singing, too.
If you have concerns about your job or if you wish to
suggest a topic, you may email me at rglabayen@gmail.com
I would assume that you’re giving me permission to
publish your email ( if chosen) and my reply. Your identity will not be
disclosed.
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