I want to chime in on Dave’s recent articles concerning the psychological trait of “grit." When we speak about this topic, there is always a well-spring of interest.  I think it provides people a sense of hope. 

Many of us know that we may not be the smartest or most talented people compared to many of our peers. There is not much we can do about our innate deficiencies and shortcomings.  However, hope surfaces from the belief that perhaps we can work harder than the next person, and possibly overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  Faced with difficult circumstances, we can display a sense of resolve and persevere.  We can face the fear of failure and not give up.  Intelligence doesn’t help you at such inflection points…grit does!

I read a book a few years back that has some great lessons regarding grit.  The book is called "Beer School:  Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery," and it is the story of how Steve Hindy and Tom Potter founded, grew, and eventually sold the Brooklyn Brewery.

Personally, I really enjoy micro-brews, and I’ve been fascinated by the growth of this industry. That is probably what motivated me to read the book originally, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I learned about business and life in general.

The brewery was conceptualized in 1986 and by late 1987 both the founders were able to quit their day jobs and work full-time with the company.  Business progressed nicely for several years, but then faced a series of challenges that later caused Potter to describe 1991 as the longest year of his life.  Here is how Potter described this time period:

“Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Brewery was slowly going broke. We had committed to a new strategy and we hoped sales would grow, but we were still a long way from break even… [To cut costs] we gave up our small but comfortable offices on Fourth Avenue, moving quarters into the tiny cinder-block room inside our warehouse. It would be uncomfortable, but would reduce our rent obligation substantially.

I privately thought there was perhaps a fifty-fifty chance of survival… I had seen some bankrupt companies close up and I was under no illusion about what the endgame looked like. It would be me in an empty office at a phone for months, trying to collect as much of our accounts receivable as possible, in order to pay off debt, as a matter of honor.”

Tom Potter was a Yale-educated bank executive before he decided to start the Brooklyn Brewery. His partner, Steve Hindy, had already gone back to his job as a Reporter in order to save money. Tom could have easily done the same.  Certainly most people would have given up at this point. Can you imagine the amount of grit he had to muster to keep going at this point?

As you might have guessed, the perseverance of the founders paid off. By 2004 when the business was sold, the Brooklyn Brewery was among the top 40 breweries in the United States.

Many of our clients, professional contacts, and friends are going through difficult times due to the challenges in economy right now.  In a figurative sense, many people are sitting in their own “cinder-block rooms” with a fifty-fifty chance of making it.  What advice do you think Tom Potter would offer?

Editor's Note:  In a previous entry we directed you to a particular site to take a grit assessment – The site address was incorrect.  To take some interesting and informative grit assessments, please instead go to http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

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